Patient-Specific Bone Fixator With 3D Guide for Precise Fracture Alignment
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing bone fixation systems for human long bones are invasive, riskier, and less effective due to mismatch with individual patient needs, leading to increased surgical trauma and potential failure.
Innovation Solution
A patient-specific bone fixation system with a fixator and positioning guide, featuring non-uniform thickness, border markers, and radiopaque markers for precise alignment, along with a drilling guide for accurate placement, reducing invasiveness and enhancing treatment effectiveness.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If standardized fixators are used for invasive procedures, then treatment precision is improved, but surgical invasiveness and risk are increased
Solution Approach 1:
The invention creates a 3D printed replica copy of the patient's specific bone geometry to design and plan the fixation procedure. This digital and physical model allows surgeons to precisely plan screw trajectories and fixator positioning without performing invasive trial procedures on the actual patient, thereby maintaining treatment precision while reducing surgical invasiveness
Solution Approach 2:
The fixator design is performed in advance using the 3D bone model, allowing optimization of screw paths, fixator positioning, and hole drilling angles before surgery. This preliminary planning enables precise treatment execution while minimizing intraoperative invasiveness and unexpected complications
2Shape
If fixators are designed based on 2D or 3D bone models, then anatomical matching is improved, but manufacturing complexity is increased
Solution Approach 1:
The invention transforms the manufacturing approach by utilizing additive manufacturing (3D printing) parameters to directly create fixators with complex anatomical surfaces that match the patient's bone geometry. This parameter change from traditional subtractive manufacturing to additive manufacturing enables high anatomical matching while actually simplifying the manufacturing process for complex geometries
3Manufacturing precision
If patient-specific fixators are manufactured using 3D printing, then customization precision is improved, but manufacturing time is increased
Solution Approach 1:
The invention applies local quality by using selective laser melting to create varying material densities and structural properties in different regions of the fixator. This allows optimized strength and flexibility in specific areas while maintaining overall customization precision, and the digital manufacturing process enables rapid production without significant time increase
4Strength
If non-uniform thickness profile is applied to fixator, then mechanical strength is improved, but manufacturing precision requirements are increased
Solution Approach 1:
The invention replaces traditional mechanical machining methods with digital additive manufacturing to achieve complex non-uniform thickness profiles. The layer-by-layer deposition process inherently provides precise thickness control through digital modeling, eliminating the need for complex mechanical tolerances while achieving the required mechanical strength
Data Source
AI summary
A method of configuring a bone fixation system for a fracture of a human's long bone shaft, includes determining a fixator reference and a fixator dimension value. Determining the fixator reference is based on at least a bone reference, a fixator parameter, and the fixator dimension value. The fixator dimension value includes a function of a critical load value in accordance with a design formula, the design formula being based on a fracture parameter, a fixator parameter, and a body constraint value. The design formula is determined by searching a formula library. A plurality of design formulas are searchable by the fracture parameter, the fixator parameter, or the body constraint value.