Adjustable Surgical Guide for Wedge Osteotomy

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Solution Overview

Problem

Current surgical systems for forming cuts in bones during arthrodesis procedures, such as Charcot disease treatment, pose infection risks, slow tissue healing, and require time-consuming methods involving frames and burrs with long incision paths, lacking precision and efficiency.

Innovation Solution

An adjustable surgical guide with pivotable guide arms and sliding elements allows for precise angular and longitudinal adjustments, enabling accurate positioning of cutting guides for forming wedge osteotomies with reduced tissue trauma and incision length.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Productivity

If current surgical systems use frames and burrs for forming bone cuts, then bone cutting can be achieved, but the procedure becomes time-consuming and requires long incision paths

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvesurgical efficiencyVSAvoidsurgical time
Core Design Contradiction:
ProductivityVSLoss of time

Solution Approach 1:

The surgical guide is prepared beforehand with pre-configured guide arms, openings, and pivot elements that define the exact cutting path. This preliminary preparation eliminates the need for time-consuming intraoperative adjustments and frame placement, directly reducing surgical time while maintaining cutting accuracy

Inventive Principle:
Principle #10Preliminary action

Solution Approach 2:

The surgical guide acts as an intermediary device between the surgeon's planning and the actual bone cutting. It translates preoperative planning into precise intraoperative execution by providing predetermined opening locations and guide arm orientations, eliminating the need for time-consuming burr-based shaping

Inventive Principle:
Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

2Productivity

If current surgical systems use frames and burrs for forming bone cuts, then bone cutting can be achieved, but infection risks increase and tissue healing is slowed

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvecutting accuracyVSAvoidinfection risk
Core Design Contradiction:
ProductivityVSObject-affected harmful factors

Solution Approach 1:

The invention extracts and eliminates the need for burrs and frames from the surgical procedure. By using a pre-configured surgical guide with predetermined openings, the harmful elements (burrs generating heat and debris, frames requiring extensive soft tissue dissection) are completely removed, thereby reducing infection risk and promoting faster tissue healing while maintaining cutting accuracy

Inventive Principle:
Principle #2Taking out (Extraction)

Solution Approach 2:

The surgical guide is designed as a disposable, single-use device that is discarded after one procedure. This eliminates the need for sterilization and reuse of complex instruments like frames and burrs, reducing infection risks associated with repeated sterilization cycles and extensive tissue manipulation

Inventive Principle:
Principle #27Cheap short-living objects (Disposable)

3Ease of operation

If current surgical systems use fixed guide structures, then positioning can be simplified, but adaptability to different angular requirements is limited

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveguide positioningVSAvoidangular adjustment capability
Core Design Contradiction:
Ease of operationVSAdaptability or versatility

Solution Approach 1:

The surgical guide incorporates dynamic elements including pivot elements that allow rotation of guide arms relative to each other, and sliding elements that enable longitudinal adjustment of guide arm positions. These dynamic features maintain ease of operation through intuitive mechanical adjustments while providing versatile angular adaptation to different surgical requirements

Inventive Principle:
Principle #15Dynamics

Solution Approach 2:

The surgical guide is divided into separate modular components: first and second guide arms that can be independently positioned, pivot elements that allow angular adjustment between arms, and sliding elements that enable longitudinal repositioning. This segmentation provides adaptability to various angular requirements while keeping each component simple and easy to operate

Inventive Principle:
Principle #1Segmentation

Data Source

PatentEP3890627B1Minimally invasive guides and cutting instruments
Publication Date: 2024.11.27 WRIGHT MEDICAL TECHNOLOGY INC
  • EP3890627B1 patent drawingFigure 1
  • EP3890627B1 patent drawingFigure 2
  • EP3890627B1 patent drawingFigure 3

AI summary

A surgical guide includes a first guide arm extending from a first end to a second end on a first longitudinal axis. The first guide arm defines a first plurality of openings sized and configured to receive a first guide element therethrough. A second guide arm extends from a first end to a second end on a second longitudinal axis. The second guide arm defines a second plurality of openings sized and configured to receive a second guide element therethrough. A pivot element couples the first end of the first guide arm to the first end of the second guide arm such that an angular distance between the first guide arm and the second guide arm can be adjusted in a first plane.