Angled Microfracture Instrument with Movable Needle
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional microfracture surgery tools, such as picks or awls, face difficulties in accessing and penetrating bone surfaces at angles, especially in arthroscopic procedures where direct linear access is limited by anatomical constraints, making it challenging to perform microfracture therapy effectively.
Innovation Solution
A novel microfracture instrument featuring a hollow shaft with a distal end having openings at an acute angle to the shaft's axis, equipped with a needle and drive shaft that can be moved between extended and retracted positions, allowing for precise engagement and penetration of the bone surface, even at angles, using a combination of manual and mechanical mechanisms like springs and triggers to deliver microfractures.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If a conventional pick or awl is used to create microfractures, then the bone can be penetrated with direct linear access, but it becomes difficult or impossible to perform microfracture surgery on bone surfaces at angles or where anatomical structures block access
Solution Approach 1:
The instrument introduces an angled opening at the distal end of the shaft, allowing the needle to approach the bone surface from a different angular dimension. This enables the surgeon to access bone surfaces that are not aligned with the longitudinal axis of the instrument shaft, effectively adding angular versatility without compromising the penetration capability.
Solution Approach 2:
The needle is made movable relative to the shaft, allowing it to be extended for bone engagement and retracted for withdrawal. This dynamic configuration enables the instrument to adapt to different surgical positions and angles while maintaining a consistent shaft orientation, resolving the contradiction between direct access and angular adaptability.
2Reliability
If a pick or awl is driven longitudinally with a hammer or mallet, then microfractures can be created in accessible bone, but substantially direct linear access to the bone surface is required which is not available in many arthroscopic cases
Solution Approach 1:
The angled opening allows the needle to be directed at the bone surface from an angle relative to the shaft axis, eliminating the requirement for direct linear access. The bone can be approached from directions that are anatomically feasible in arthroscopic surgery while maintaining reliable microfracture creation through the needle's penetration action.
3Manufacturing precision
If the needle is extended to engage the bone, then microfracture therapy can be applied, but the needle must be precisely positioned and controlled during the procedure
Solution Approach 1:
The movable needle mechanism allows precise extension and retraction controlled by the surgeon. This dynamic control enables accurate positioning of the needle tip at the bone surface while maintaining the ability to withdraw it safely, achieving precise delivery without requiring overly complex positioning systems.
Data Source
AI summary
A microfracture instrument for applying microfracture therapy to a bone, the microfracture instrument comprising:an elongated shaft comprising a distal end and a proximal end;a needle comprising a body terminating in at least one sharp point, the needle being movably mounted to the distal end of the shaft for movement between an extended position for engaging the bone with the at least one sharp point of the needle and a retracted position for withdrawing the at least one sharp point of the needle from the bone; anda drive shaft movably mounted to the elongated shaft, the drive shaft being connected to the body of the needle so that movement of the drive shaft relative to the elongated shaft moves the needle between its extended position and its retracted position.