Low-Profile Bone Plate Drill Guide for Soft Tissue Clearance
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional drill guides for bone plates protrude outwardly, interfering with soft tissues like tendons and ligaments, and require assembly during surgery, leading to cross-threading issues and reduced locking fixation.
Innovation Solution
A low-profile drill and/or K-wire guide that can be preattached to a bone plate, with a maximum thickness less than or equal to the aperture depth, providing a pressure-fit or threaded attachment, and allowing for easy insertion and removal, reducing soft tissue interference and preventing cross-threading.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If conventional drill guides are preattached to bone plates, then assembly during surgery is eliminated, but the drill guides protrude outwardly interfering with soft tissues
Solution Approach 1:
The drill guide transitions from a protruding three-dimensional structure to a low-profile configuration where the guide thickness is reduced to match or exceed the aperture depth, effectively hiding the guide within the bone plate thickness dimension and eliminating soft tissue interference
Solution Approach 2:
The physical parameters of the drill guide are changed by reducing its thickness to be greater than or equal to the aperture depth, transforming it from a protruding structure to a low-profile structure that does not interfere with soft tissues
2Object-affected harmful factors
If conventional drill guides are assembled during surgery, then soft tissue interference is reduced, but cross-threading issues and reduced locking fixation occur
Solution Approach 1:
The drill guide is preattached to the bone plate before surgery, establishing the correct drilling trajectory and aperture orientation in advance, which prevents cross-threading and ensures reliable locking fixation when the screw is inserted
3Stability of the object's composition
If the drill guide protrudes outwardly from the bone plate, then it provides structural stability, but it interferes with soft tissues including tendons and ligaments
Solution Approach 1:
The drill guide is designed with a thickness dimension that is greater than or equal to the aperture depth, causing the guide to be concealed within the bone plate thickness and eliminating protrusion into the soft tissue space
4Object-affected harmful factors
If the drill guide is made low-profile to reduce soft tissue interference, then soft tissue interference is minimized, but the guide must be precisely fitted within the aperture
Solution Approach 1:
The thickness parameter of the drill guide is set to be greater than or equal to the aperture depth, creating a low-profile configuration that fits within the aperture while maintaining ease of insertion and removal
Data Source
AI summary
A drill and/or K-wire guide for receipt in an aperture formed in a bone plate is provided. The drill and/or K-wire guide can include a first end, an opposite second end, an annular outer surface extending between the first end and the second end, a maximum diameter, a maximum thickness perpendicular to the maximum diameter, a first opening at the first end, a second opening at the second end, and an aperture extending between the first opening and the second opening. The aperture formed in the drill and/or K-wire guide can be configured for receipt of at least one of a drill and a K-wire therethrough, and the drill and/or K-wire guide can be configured for receipt in the aperture formed in the bone plate.