Adjustable Drill Guide With Radial Jaws For Soft Tissue Protection
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current surgical tools require a large number of different parts to accommodate various drill bit and implant diameters, leading to increased complexity, potential soft tissue injury, and longer surgical times due to the need for multiple instruments and heavier trays.
Innovation Solution
A soft tissue protector and drill guide with a rotatable adjustment cap and radially movable jaws that allow for variable diameter adjustment, enabling the use of a single tool for different implant sizes, with flexible guiding extensions and springs to ensure centered and safe insertion of drill bits and implants.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If multiple different parts are used to accommodate various drill bit and implant diameters, then the adaptability to different implant sizes is improved, but the device complexity and number of parts increase
Solution Approach 1:
The drill guide is designed with a single universal device that can accommodate multiple implant diameters through an adjustable jaw mechanism. The jaws can be radially moved to change the cavity diameter, allowing one device to perform the function of multiple specialized tools, thereby reducing the number of parts while maintaining adaptability to different implant sizes
Solution Approach 2:
The drill guide incorporates movable jaws that can be adjusted radially to change the cavity diameter dynamically during surgery. This dynamic adjustment capability allows the single device to adapt to different implant sizes without requiring multiple fixed-diameter tools, resolving the contradiction between versatility and complexity
2Adaptability or versatility
If multiple different parts are used to accommodate various drill bit and implant diameters, then the adaptability to different implant sizes is improved, but the weight of the instrument tray increases
Solution Approach 1:
By designing a single universal drill guide that can accommodate multiple implant diameters through adjustable jaws, the total weight of multiple separate tools is replaced by the weight of one multi-functional device, thereby reducing the overall weight of the instrument tray while maintaining adaptability
3Adaptability or versatility
If multiple different parts are used to accommodate various drill bit and implant diameters, then the adaptability to different implant sizes is improved, but the surgical time increases due to the need to select and switch between instruments
Solution Approach 1:
The dynamic jaw adjustment mechanism allows the surgeon to change the cavity diameter quickly during surgery without switching between multiple fixed-diameter tools. This reduces the time lost in selecting and switching instruments while maintaining the ability to accommodate different implant sizes
Solution Approach 2:
The drill guide includes self-centering features and flexible guiding extensions that automatically adjust to center drill bits and implants, reducing the time and complexity of manual alignment procedures and streamlining the surgical process
4Device complexity
If a single tool with variable diameter is used, then the number of parts is reduced, but the manufacturing precision required for the adjustable mechanism increases
Solution Approach 1:
The movable jaw mechanism is designed with guides and constraints that ensure precise radial movement. The manufacturing precision is focused on the guide surfaces and jaw positioning features, allowing accurate diameter adjustment while maintaining overall device simplicity and reducing the total number of parts
5Adaptability or versatility
If the drill guide structure is made more complex to accommodate variable diameter, then the adaptability is improved, but the ease of operation decreases due to additional manipulation requirements
Solution Approach 1:
The drill guide incorporates self-centering features and flexible guiding extensions that automatically adjust to center drill bits and implants during insertion. This self-adjusting capability reduces the manipulation complexity for the surgeon while maintaining adaptability to different implant sizes, thereby improving ease of operation
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This solution reduces the number of surgical instruments needed, minimizes soft tissue injury, and streamlines surgical procedures by allowing for efficient alignment and insertion of implants of various diameters with a single tool, while maintaining stability and ease of use.
Implementation Method 1
a guide spring oriented away from the longitudinal axis of the guiding extension, contacting the inner wall of the drill guide sleeve and pushing the inner jaw surfaces of the flexible guiding extension one against the other
Data Source
AI summary
A drill guide for guiding elements, especially drill bits and implants of an implantation kit during a surgical intervention, has a main body having a gripping portion. The drill guide has an upper and a lower central opening along its longitudinal axis with a through going cavity for receiving the element to be guided. A lower contact surface is positioned on an object, such as a bone, on or into which the element is to be guided. The diameter of the through going cavity can be varied by a.) radial positioning of three or four jaws inside the cavity through a groove-slide block system and/or b.) against the force of a spring at the lower free end of guiding extensions. The spring is provided on the back side of the extensions which bear against the inner wall of the drill guide sleeve.