Contoured Calcaneal Plate With Percutaneous Drill Guide
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional orthopedic implants for calcaneal fractures require invasive surgery and significant tissue displacement, leading to increased morbidity and longer recovery times due to the need for large incisions to access the bone.
Innovation Solution
A less invasive fully contoured orthopedic implant with a drill guide assembly that allows for percutaneous screw placement using a small incision inferior to the lateral malleolus, featuring a ribbon-shaped plate with an undulating profile and multiplanar fixation capabilities, along with a drill guide assembly that mimics the plate's profile to facilitate precise positioning and minimal tissue disruption.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If conventional robust plates are used for calcaneal fracture fixation, then stabilization and support are improved, but surgical invasiveness and tissue displacement increase
Solution Approach 1:
The plate is divided into multiple contoured sections (anterior process section, body section, posterior facet section) that can be independently shaped to fit the complex anatomy of the calcaneus, allowing stable fixation without requiring excessive tissue displacement for positioning
Solution Approach 2:
A drill guide assembly is introduced as an intermediary device that facilitates precise screw placement through percutaneous techniques, eliminating the need for large incisions while maintaining accurate hole alignment for screw insertion
2Manufacturing precision
If large incisions are made to access the bone, then implant placement accuracy is improved, but morbidity and recovery time increase
Solution Approach 1:
The drill guide assembly serves as a mediator that enables precise implant placement through small percutaneous incisions by providing a mechanical guide for drill and screw insertion, eliminating the need for large exposure incisions while maintaining placement accuracy
Solution Approach 2:
The manual technique of large incision and direct visualization is replaced with a guided percutaneous system that uses the drill guide assembly and imaging/navigation to achieve accurate implant placement through minimal incisions
3Object-affected harmful factors
If percutaneous implantation is used to reduce incision size, then tissue damage is reduced, but implant positioning precision becomes more difficult to achieve
Solution Approach 1:
The drill guide assembly acts as a mechanical intermediary that translates the small percutaneous access into precise implant positioning by providing physical guides for drill and screw insertion, maintaining accuracy despite minimal tissue disruption
Solution Approach 2:
The drill guide assembly is positioned and secured to the bone surface before implant insertion, establishing the precise trajectory and positioning for subsequent screw placement through percutaneous access
Data Source
AI summary
This invention provides a calcaneal plate implanted using a sinus tarsi approach and comprises an anterior section having two locking screw holes, an s-shaped posterior facet section having a four locking holes and which rounds toward the bone at both the inferior and superior edges and is reinforced at the superior edge, and a blade shaped posterior portion having three linearly aligned locking holes and terminating in a tapered portion. There is also, a drill guide assembly having a drill guide column inserted through a hole in a targeting guide and locking to one of the locking holes in the plate, and cannulated drill guide sleeves that lock into holes in the targeting guide in a spaced relation whereby when the targeting guide is locked into the plate, the targeting guide can be used as a handle and wherein locking screws can be implanted percutaneously.