3D Bone-Protecting Drill Guide for Spinal Surgery
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing surgical instruments used in spinal surgeries often cause damage to bone structures due to their rigidity and mounting challenges, especially in cases of soft or brittle bones, and determining optimal support structures is difficult, particularly in revision surgeries where bone structures may be missing or altered.
Innovation Solution
A 3D bone-protecting drill guide device made from biocompatible materials, which is designed to protect bone structures by providing a reverse-engineered surface approximation of the bone and pre-calculated implant guides for precise placement of surgical instruments, reducing the risk of damage and improving rigidity, and can be used in various spinal and orthopedic procedures.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Stability of the object's composition
If surgical instruments are mounted or clamped to boney structures, then the instruments can be stabilized for surgery, but surface damage is caused to the boney structure
Solution Approach 1:
A 3D-printed protective interface device is introduced as an intermediary between the surgical instrument and the boney structure. This protective interface distributes the clamping load across a larger surface area and protects vulnerable bone surfaces from direct contact with rigid instrument mounting surfaces, thereby preventing surface damage while maintaining instrument stability during surgery
2Manufacturing precision
If rigid instruments are used for surgery, then surgical precision can be maintained, but damage to soft or brittle bones occurs
Solution Approach 1:
The protective interface device incorporates locally varied material properties and geometric features tailored to specific bone regions. Different areas of the interface are designed with appropriate rigidity, flexibility, and surface characteristics to match the underlying bone quality, allowing rigid instrument support over protected areas while accommodating soft or brittle bone regions through compliant or cushioned contact surfaces
3Strength
If instruments are made stiffer to reduce deflection, then instrument rigidity is improved, but bone damage risk increases
Solution Approach 1:
The protective interface acts as a compliant intermediary that decouples the rigidity requirement from direct bone contact. The surgical instrument maintains its stiff construction for precision and strength, while the protective interface absorbs the mechanical mismatch by providing a softer, more compliant contact surface with the bone, thereby reducing damage risk without compromising instrument rigidity
4Ease of operation
If mounting structures are added to support instruments, then instrument support is improved, but complexity of the surgical setup increases
Solution Approach 1:
The protective interface device combines multiple functions into a single integrated component: it provides instrument mounting surfaces, protects bone surfaces, distributes loads, and guides instrument placement. By merging these previously separate functions into one 3D-printed device, the overall surgical setup complexity is reduced while maintaining comprehensive instrument support capabilities
Data Source
AI summary
A surgical bone-protecting drill guide device includes a body formed of biocompatible material forming a shell. The body includes an outer surface, an interior surface being a reverse-engineering surface approximation of a protruding boney structure of one or more bones in an image of a patient and body material between the outer surface and the interior surface. The device includes implant guides. Each implant guide is configured to extend from the outer surface and through the body material and the interior surface and provide a window to a pre-planned implant location for implanting a respective one implant relative to the protruding boney structure of the patient. The window has a size and shape that is pre-calculated as a function of a size of a pre-determined tool to be inserted through the window.