Bone Plate Alignment Guide for Stable Arthrodesis Fixation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Patients with Charcot neuroarthropathy and other foot deformities experience instability and pain due to breakdown of the foot arch, necessitating arthrodesis or fusion to restore a plantigrade position, but existing bone fixation systems lack stability and alignment guides for effective joint fixation.
Innovation Solution
A bone fixation system comprising an alignment guide with a rotatable wire and coupling member, and a bone plate with adjustable screw holes, allowing secure fixation and alignment of bones during arthrodesis procedures.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If existing bone fixation systems are used for arthrodesis, then the procedure can be performed, but the stability and alignment of the fixed bones is insufficient
Solution Approach 1:
The fixation system is divided into separate functional components: an alignment guide for positioning, a bone plate for fixation, and screws for securing. This segmentation allows each component to be optimized independently while maintaining overall system stability without excessive complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The alignment guide is used before bone plate insertion to pre-establish the correct spatial orientation and alignment of bone fragments. This preliminary alignment action ensures that subsequent fixation with the bone plate occurs at the optimal position, improving reliability without requiring complex adjustment mechanisms during final fixation.
2Manufacturing precision
If alignment guides are added to improve bone positioning, then manufacturing precision increases, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The alignment guide and bone plate are designed as integrable components where the guide can be attached to or combined with the plate. This merging reduces the effective number of separate components while maintaining the alignment precision function, thereby improving manufacturing precision without proportionally increasing device complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The alignment guide is designed with universal features that allow it to work with different bone plate configurations and anatomical sites. This multi-functionality means a single guide design can serve multiple purposes, reducing the need for numerous specialized components and thereby limiting the increase in device complexity while maintaining precision.
3Adaptability or versatility
If screw holes are positioned in lobes of the bone plate, then adaptability to different bones improves, but manufacturing complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The bone plate features localized lobes with screw holes positioned at specific locations optimized for common anatomical sites. This local quality approach provides adaptability for different bones at critical areas while keeping the overall plate design and manufacturing process relatively simple, rather than requiring complex customization throughout the entire structure.
Data Source
AI summary
Implants, guides, devices, instruments, systems and methods for fixing a joint using bone plates are disclosed. The bone fixation system includes an alignment guide with a first end and a second end, an alignment wire rotatably coupled to the first end of the alignment guide, and a coupling member slidingly engaging a first portion of the alignment guide near the first end. The plate includes a body including a first end and a second end, a plurality of lobes extending from the body, a plurality of screw holes extending through the body and each screw hole of the plurality of screw holes positioned in a lobe of the plurality of lobes, and an alignment hole positioned along a longitudinal axis of the body. A method of using a bone fixation system for fixation of at least two bones is also disclosed.