Bone Fixation Implant With Guide-Pin Saw Alignment
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Solution Overview
Problem
There is a need for surgical tools that facilitate the stable initial fixation of bones or bone fragments to prevent relative translation and/or rotation in response to forces acting across the joint or interface between them, which is crucial for successful bone fusion.
Innovation Solution
A method involving the use of a drill guide assembly to create guide pins in bones, a surgical saw guided by these pins to form an intermediate hole, and insertion of an implant with a keel into this hole to stabilize the bones, using materials like Nitinol, stainless steel, titanium, or PEEK for components.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Manufacturing precision
If guide pins are driven into bones to guide surgical saw, then cutting precision is improved, but surgical procedure complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
Guide pins are driven into the bones before the surgical saw cutting operation to establish precise reference points. This preliminary positioning enables the surgical saw to follow an accurate path through the guide holes, ensuring precise cutting while the guide pins bear the complexity of positioning rather than the cutting tool itself
Solution Approach 2:
The guide pins serve as intermediary elements between the bones and the surgical saw. They are first positioned in the bones, then the surgical saw is guided through holes in the guide pins, allowing the saw to create precise intermediate holes without directly requiring complex positioning mechanisms
2Measurement precision
If multiple guide pins are used to guide surgical saw, then positioning accuracy is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
Different guide pins are positioned at specific locations on the bones with specific orientations and depths tailored to the surgical requirements. Each guide pin is customized for its local position and function, allowing high positioning accuracy while keeping each individual guide pin relatively simple in structure
Solution Approach 2:
The positioning system is divided into multiple separate guide pins rather than one complex positioning device. Each guide pin is a simple, independent component that can be individually positioned and removed, reducing the complexity of any single device while achieving high overall positioning accuracy through the combination of multiple pins
Data Source
AI summary
A system for providing fixation of first and second bones includes a drill guide that receives a drill bit to create first and second holes in the first and second bones, respectively. Guide pins can be driven into the first and second holes. The guide pins are received by a surgical saw to guide the surgical saw toward a joint between the first and second bones, thereby creating a third hole in each of the bones across the joint. The guide pins are then removed, and an implant can be inserted into the bones, such that a first leg of the implant is disposed in the first hole, a second leg of the implant is disposed in the second hole, and a keel of the implant is disposed in the third hole.