Angled Glenoid Reamer With Dual-Axis Drive for Small Incisions
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing reaming tools are difficult to use in small, minimally invasive incisions due to their linear design, making it challenging to angle the reamer correctly relative to the bone, especially when visibility is limited.
Innovation Solution
A reamer assembly with a drive shaft that rotates about a first axis and a reamer that rotates about a second axis, angled relative to the first, allowing for independent orientation and alignment, and optionally includes a boss drill for additional functionality.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If a straight reaming tool is used, then the tool is easy to manufacture, but it is difficult to angle the reamer correctly relative to angled bone at small incisions with limited visibility
Solution Approach 1:
The reamer assembly transitions from a single-axis rotation to a dual-axis rotation system. The reamer head is angled relative to the drive shaft axis, allowing the reamer to rotate about a second axis that is different from the first axis of the drive shaft. This dimensional change enables the reamer to achieve angled orientations relative to the bone while maintaining a simple linear insertion path through the incision, resolving the contradiction between ease of manufacture and ease of operation.
2Adaptability or versatility
If a small, minimally invasive incision is used, then the incision is less invasive, but there is little room for the clinician to operate and little visibility
Solution Approach 1:
The dual-axis rotation mechanism allows the reamer to perform angled bone reaming through a small, linear incision by utilizing rotational movement in multiple dimensions. The reamer head's fixed angle relative to the drive shaft creates a predictable rotational path that enables precise angular orientation of the reaming action without requiring the clinician to manually angle the entire reaming tool, thus maintaining minimal invasiveness while improving ease of operation.
Solution Approach 2:
The angled reamer head acts as an intermediary between the linear drive shaft and the angled bone surface. This intermediary component translates the simple rotational motion of the drive shaft into the complex angled reaming motion required for osteotomy, allowing the clinician to operate through a small incision with limited visibility while still achieving the desired angular reaming of the bone.
3Device complexity
If the reamer rotates about the same axis as the drive shaft, then the design is simple, but the reamer cannot be properly aligned with angled bone
Solution Approach 1:
The reamer assembly incorporates a fixed angle between the drive shaft axis and the reamer axis, creating a dual-axis rotation system. This geometric relationship allows the reamer to rotate about a second axis that is different from the first axis of the drive shaft, enabling precise alignment with angled bone surfaces while maintaining relatively simple device architecture. The fixed angular relationship ensures consistent and predictable reaming orientation.
Data Source
AI summary
In some implementations, apparatuses and methods are provided herein useful to reamer assemblies. In some implementations, a reamer assembly comprises a housing forming a channel extending therethrough and defining a longitudinal axis, a drive shaft at least partially positioned in the channel and configured to rotate about a first axis of rotation, a reamer configured to be removably coupled to the housing such that the drive shaft (i) engages the reamer and (ii) is configured to cause the reamer to rotate about a second axis of rotation that is different than the first axis of rotation, and a boss drill configured to be removably coupled to the drive shaft such that the drive shaft is configured to cause the boss drill to rotate about the first axis of rotation.