Bone Tamp Apparatus With Expandable Movable Elements
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current bone tamps are limited in their ability to perform additional functions during surgical procedures, requiring large bone windows and skin incisions, causing significant bleeding and soft tissue trauma, and are inefficient due to their small tamping surface area relative to the fracture size, leading to compromised bone graft integration and excessive procedural time.
Innovation Solution
A tamp apparatus with a cannula and stylet that includes a through hole aligned with the longitudinal axis, allowing for guide wire placement to accurately position the tamp and subsequent injection of bone graft, and features movable elements that expand the tamping surface area for increased effectiveness.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Area of moving object
If a simple solid straight tamp is used, then the device complexity is low, but the tamping surface area is insufficient relative to the fracture size
Solution Approach 1:
The tamp is divided into multiple segments: a solid proximal portion and a distal portion with apertures. This segmentation allows the tamp to have a larger effective tamping surface area while maintaining manageable device complexity through modular design.
Solution Approach 2:
The distal portion of the tamp incorporates apertures creating a porous structure. This increases the tamping surface area by providing multiple contact points with the bone fracture, while the apertures also serve dual purposes of reducing overall density and enabling bone graft injection.
2Adaptability or versatility
If a simple solid tamp is used, then the ease of manufacture is high, but the ability to perform additional functions is limited
Solution Approach 1:
The tamp is designed with multi-functionality: the apertures in the distal portion enable both increased tamping surface area and serve as conduits for bone graft injection. The guide wire aperture allows for precise positioning during the procedure. This multi-functionality addresses multiple surgical needs within a single device.
Solution Approach 2:
The tamp design allows nesting of functional elements: the guide wire passes through the apertures, and the bone graft is injected through the same apertures. This nested arrangement enables multiple functions to be integrated without proportionally increasing device complexity.
3Productivity
If a simple solid tamp is used, then the device complexity is low, but the procedural time is excessive
Solution Approach 1:
The guide wire aperture allows the guide wire to be positioned beforehand to establish the exact trajectory and depth for the tamp insertion. This preliminary action ensures accurate placement on the first attempt, eliminating the need for multiple trial insertions and reducing overall procedural time.
Solution Approach 2:
The apertures in the distal portion enable continuous functionality: the tamp can be used for tamping while the same apertures simultaneously serve as injection sites for bone graft. This eliminates the need to remove the tamp between tamping and grafting operations, maintaining continuous useful action and reducing procedural time.
4Reliability
If a simple solid tamp is used, then the ease of operation is high, but the bone graft integration is compromised
Solution Approach 1:
The apertures in the distal portion create a porous structure that facilitates bone graft integration by providing direct pathways for graft material delivery into the bone void. This porous design maintains ease of operation while significantly improving bone graft integration reliability.
Data Source
AI summary
A tamping apparatus is described that includes a cannula that has a tubular wall that includes a distal end portion that defines a tamping face. The cannula defines a longitudinally aligned aperture or lumen that provides access for an insert and the injection of treatment materials such as a bone graft. The distal end portion of the cannula can also include a plurality of movable elements that can be a part of or connected to the tubular wall. The tamp apparatus can also include a cannula or stylet that can be moved within aperture of cannula and is employed to move elements between the first position and second position of tamp apparatus.