Modular Ankle Arthroplasty Guide with Reusable Cutting Block
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing surgical instruments for ankle arthroplasty often require multiple, patient-specific devices for varying cut sizes, which can be costly and wasteful, and may be damaged during procedures, leading to inaccurate resections.
Innovation Solution
A modular patient-specific instrumentation system where only the bone-engaging portion is customized, while other components are generic, allowing for mass production and reusability of cutting guide components, and using hard materials to shield both bone and patient-specific parts from damage.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Manufacturing precision
If multiple patient-specific devices are produced for different cut sizes, then the precision and customization of the surgical procedure is improved, but the cost and waste increase significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The cutting guide is designed with a universal interface system consisting of a patient-specific bone-engaging portion and a reusable cutting block portion. The cutting block can be exchanged between different guides, allowing a single patient-specific guide to support multiple cutting block sizes (e.g., small, medium, large) through standardized coupling mechanisms, thereby eliminating the need to manufacture multiple complete patient-specific devices for different cut sizes.
Solution Approach 2:
The cutting guide is divided into two distinct segments: a disposable patient-specific bone-engaging portion that ensures precise anatomical fit, and a reusable generic cutting block portion that contains the cutting surface and can be selectively exchanged. This segmentation allows the expensive patient-specific portion to be used only once while the generic portion is reused across multiple procedures and patients.
2Adaptability or versatility
If patient-specific devices are made from soft materials to fit anatomy, then the customization and fit are improved, but the devices become vulnerable to damage during resection
Solution Approach 1:
The cutting guide employs composite construction where the patient-specific bone-engaging portion is made from soft, anatomically conforming material (e.g., plastic or polymer) that can be custom-fitted to the patient's anatomy, while the cutting block portion is made from hard, damage-resistant material (e.g., metal or reinforced polymer) that can withstand the forces of bone resection without being inadvertently cut or damaged.
Solution Approach 2:
The reusable cutting block acts as an intermediary between the soft patient-specific guide and the cutting tool. It provides a hard, protective interface that shields the soft patient-specific portion from direct contact with the cutting tool, preventing damage to the customized anatomical fit portion while still enabling precise cutting through the cutting block's guide surface.
3Adaptability or versatility
If standard non-patient-specific instrumentation is used when anatomy differs from plan, then device availability is improved, but the procedure becomes more complex and time-consuming
Solution Approach 1:
The cutting guide system incorporates universal, standardized components (cutting blocks with standard interfaces) that can be readily exchanged if the surgical plan needs to be modified due to anatomical variations. This allows the surgeon to quickly swap cutting blocks of different sizes or configurations without requiring custom fabrication, maintaining procedure efficiency while adapting to intraoperative findings.
Data Source
AI summary
Patient-specific guide systems and methods for performing bone resections for ankle arthroplasties comprises a bone guide body and a bone resection block. The bone guide body comprises a patient-specific surface for engaging a surface of a talus or a tibia, and a first pin hole and a first socket in the bone guide body. The bone resection block is removably insertable into the first socket, receives a first pin that can be inserted in the first pin hole, and includes a resection guide surface. The system further comprises a floating bone trial that attaches to the bone resection block via a floating bone guide. The floating bone trail receives a chamfer spacer and guide for further resecting the bone. The system further comprises a stylus for engagement with the resection guide surface to confirm resection depth. The bone guide body includes alignment pin and resection block snap lock features.