Arthroplasty Trial Template with Viewing Window for Bone Assessment
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current surgical instruments for joint arthroplasty procedures often obscure the underlying bone, making it difficult to determine if the bone has adequate support for securing artificial joint prostheses, especially in damaged or diseased joints, and are often not universally configured, leading to clutter and high sterilization demands.
Innovation Solution
An arthroplasty system with a trial template and prosthesis design that includes visualization members and support members to create a viewing window, allowing for clear visualization of bone quality and screw placement, and a universal design for both right and left acetabulum or glenoid cavities, reducing the number of instruments needed.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If surgical instruments are used to secure prosthetic components to bone, then fixation is achieved, but the underlying bone becomes obscured making it difficult to determine adequate support
Solution Approach 1:
The prosthesis base component is segmented to include multiple viewing windows that allow visualization of the underlying bone at different locations. This segmentation enables simultaneous fixation and bone quality assessment by dividing the observation areas into distinct windows positioned at strategic locations on the base component.
Solution Approach 2:
The viewing windows act as intermediaries between the surgeon and the underlying bone. These windows provide a direct visual pathway that allows the surgeon to assess bone quality without removing the prosthesis or additional surgical instruments, serving as a mediating structure that enables observation while maintaining fixation.
2Manufacturing precision
If specialized surgical instruments are configured for specific bone types (right or left), then precise fit is achieved, but instrument clutter and sterilization demands increase
Solution Approach 1:
The base component is designed with universal applicability through symmetric or adaptable viewing window configurations that can accommodate both right and left acetabulum or glenoid cavities. This multi-functionality allows a single instrument design to serve multiple surgical scenarios, reducing the number of specialized instruments needed while maintaining precise fit through proper orientation and alignment features.
Data Source
AI summary
A trial template for visualizing the placement of a bone screw includes a bone facing side, a visualization side opposite the bone facing side, a trial periphery defining an outer perimeter of the trial, and first and second support members positioned within the trial periphery and each having a length extending in a direction transverse to an axis that extends through the bone facing and visualization sides The first and second support members define a viewing window therebetween that extends through the second component from the visualization side to the bone facing side. The trial template also includes a visualization member extending between the first and second support members and across the viewing window. The visualization member includes a position within the second component periphery that corresponds with a desired bone screw location in a bone.