Bone Quality Assessment via Motor Current and Penetration Depth
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current medical and dental devices for determining bone quality by tapping a thread into the bone lack the ability to provide succinct and comprehensible information about bone quality, particularly including a qualitative depth profile, and often require additional components for depth measurement, making them technically complex and expensive.
Innovation Solution
A medical device with a control unit and measurement circuit that determines motor current values correlated with torque values, which are used to assess bone quality and depth penetration, using existing components like the motor drive and gear unit, and displays this information graphically on a display unit, allowing for real-time bone quality assessment.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If additional measurement components are added to determine depth of penetration, then measurement precision is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The motor drive serves dual functions: both driving the threaded element and measuring depth of penetration through its own operational parameters (rotational speed, torque, current). The control unit calculates depth by monitoring these self-generated signals, eliminating the need for separate measurement components.
Solution Approach 2:
The motor drive is designed to perform multiple functions simultaneously: it provides rotational motion for thread cutting and acts as a sensor for depth measurement. The control unit processes motor current and rotational speed data to determine both cutting progress and bone quality, making the motor drive a universal component for both actuation and measurement.
2Measurement precision
If additional measurement components are added to determine depth of penetration, then measurement precision is improved, but manufacturing cost increases
Solution Approach 1:
The motor drive serves dual functions: both driving the threaded element and measuring depth of penetration through its own operational parameters (rotational speed, torque, current). The control unit calculates depth by monitoring these self-generated signals, eliminating the need for separate measurement components.
3Device complexity
If motor current values are used to determine bone quality, then device complexity is reduced, but measurement precision may be compromised
Solution Approach 1:
The control unit continuously monitors motor current, rotational speed, and torque during the thread cutting process and uses this feedback to calculate depth of penetration and assess bone quality in real-time. The system adjusts motor parameters based on detected bone characteristics, creating a closed-loop measurement system that improves precision without adding hardware.
Solution Approach 2:
The system measures changes in motor operational parameters (current, speed, torque) as the threaded element penetrates bone tissue. By analyzing how these parameters change with depth and loading conditions, the control unit derives bone quality information from standard motor measurements, maintaining precision while avoiding additional sensors.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The device provides users with immediate, understandable insights into bone quality and depth penetration, enabling informed treatment decisions without the need for additional measurement components, thus simplifying the process and reducing costs.
Implementation Method 1
to determine through the first electrical contact device values of the motor current with which the motor drive is supplied for driving the threaded element, wherein the motor current values correlate with or are substantially proportional to transmitted torque values
Implementation Method 2
tapping a thread into the bone by a rotating threaded element having at least one cutting edge
Data Source
AI summary
A medical or dental device for determining a bone's quality by cutting a thread into the bone with a rotating threaded element comprises a control unit having a measurement circuit configured: (i) to determine values of the motor current via a first electrical contact device with which the motor drive is supplied for rotational drive of the threaded element that can be connected to the motor drive, the current values being a measure of the bone's quality; (ii) to monitor and/or to determine the penetration depth of the threaded element into the bone, and (iii) to generate measurement signals which show the relationship between the penetration depth and the determined current values or parameters derived therefrom, and to transmit these signals to a display unit, which displays the relationship between the determined current values or parameters derived therefrom, in particular the bone's quality, and the penetration depth.