Cable Roller Bone Saw Guide Pulley Control
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Solution Overview
Problem
Traditional bone saws in surgical operations pose a significant risk of soft tissue damage due to the difficulty in controlling the saw to avoid inadvertent contact with surrounding tissues, particularly during the completion of cuts, leading to potential trauma and extended healing times.
Innovation Solution
An orthopedic surgical saw with a flexible cutting member that traverses pulleys, allowing for controlled cutting within a bore created in the bone, minimizing contact with soft tissues by using guide pulleys that move along the bone's perimeter to engage the cutting member and prevent unplanned acceleration or eruption.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If traditional saw instruments are used to cut through bone, then the cutting operation can be performed, but there is a significant risk of soft tissue damage due to difficulty in controlling the saw to avoid inadvertent contact with surrounding tissues
Solution Approach 1:
A guide member with a bearing surface is introduced as an intermediary between the cutting member and the bone. The bearing surface contacts the outer perimeter surface of the bone to guide and constrain the cutting member, preventing inadvertent contact with soft tissue while enabling controlled cutting through the bone
Solution Approach 2:
The cutting member is configured as a flexible band that can be tensioned and routed through guides. This flexibility allows the cutting member to conform to the bone geometry and be precisely controlled, reducing the risk of unplanned acceleration or eruption that could damage soft tissue
2Object-affected harmful factors
If the saw is manipulated to avoid soft tissue contact, then soft tissue damage may be reduced, but the complexity of the operation increases due to the need to manipulate and retract surrounding soft tissue
Solution Approach 1:
The guide member acts as a mediator that interfaces with the bone's outer perimeter surface, providing a stable reference that simplifies the cutting operation. By establishing this guide interface, the need for complex soft tissue manipulation is reduced, as the guide member inherently controls the cutting path and protects surrounding tissues
Solution Approach 2:
The guide member is positioned and secured to the bone before the cutting operation begins. This preliminary action establishes the cutting path and protective constraints in advance, eliminating the need for continuous complex manipulation during the cutting process and reducing overall surgical complexity
3Manufacturing precision
If the cutting member is rotated about pulleys to cut the bone, then precise control over the cutting path is achieved, but the device complexity increases due to the need for multiple pulleys and guide members
Solution Approach 1:
The guide member serves multiple functions: it guides the cutting member along the desired path, protects soft tissue from contact, and provides a stable reference surface for precise cutting. This multi-functionality reduces the need for separate components, thereby managing device complexity while maintaining cutting precision
Solution Approach 2:
The bearing surface of the guide member contacts the bone's outer perimeter surface to automatically guide the cutting member. This self-guiding mechanism eliminates the need for complex external guidance systems, achieving precise cutting path control through the inherent geometry of the bone-g guide interface
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 solution reduces the risk of soft tissue damage and trauma by allowing precise control over the cutting process, minimizing contact with surrounding tissues and preventing rapid acceleration at cut completion, thus improving surgical outcomes.
Implementation Method 1
as the cutting member contacts the bone (e.g., at the sidewall portions of the bore), the cutting member may cut the bone
Data Source
AI summary
A surgical saw for use in cutting bone. The saw may include a cutting member that is rotated about a drive pulley, an idler pulley, and first and second guide members. The guide members are in contact with an outer perimeter surface of a bone to be cut. The guide members may be moveable in opposite directions relative to the outer perimeter surface. In turn, the cutting member may be engaged with the bone in response to the movement of the guide members. The guide members may move along the outer perimeter surface of the bone until the cutting member has been moved through an entire cross-section of a bone to separate the bone. The saw may be initially inserted in a bore created in the bone to dispose the idler pulley at an opposite side of the bone as the drive pulley when commencing the cutting operation.