Articular Cartilage Drilling Device with Adjustable Depth Control
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current methods for osteochondral transplantation, such as allograft osteochondral transplantation, are less successful in active duty military populations and physically active individuals due to lack of precision in drilling depth, particularly for shallow or deep defects, leading to challenges in maintaining physical demands of their roles.
Innovation Solution
A drilling device that allows precise adjustment and control of drilling depth to approximately 50 μm resolution, enabling precise creation of defects in articular knee cartilage for osteochondral graft implantation, using a handle device with an adjustable shaft collar, rotatable disk, and drill collar for accurate depth setting and measurement.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Manufacturing precision
If empirical drilling methods with tick marks on drill bits are used, then the device complexity is low and ease of operation is high, but the manufacturing precision and measurement precision are poor (approximately 1 mm tolerance)
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies preliminary action by pre-setting the drilling depth using an adjustable shaft collar and depth gauge before the actual drilling operation. The shaft collar is positioned at a predetermined depth mark, and the drill bit length is adjusted to extend exactly to this mark, ensuring the desired drilling depth is established in advance. This eliminates the need for empirical drilling and post-drilling measurement, achieving precision better than 1 mm tolerance while maintaining operational simplicity.
2Measurement precision
If higher precision drilling depth control (50 μm resolution) is implemented, then the manufacturing precision and measurement precision are improved, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies universality by designing a multi-functional drilling device that combines several functions into a single integrated system. The adjustable shaft collar serves multiple purposes: it acts as a depth stop, a measurement reference, and an adjustment mechanism. The depth gauge integrated into the shaft collar provides both visual indication and physical reference for depth setting. This multi-functionality achieves 50 μm resolution precision without proportionally increasing device complexity, as one component performs multiple critical functions.
3Manufacturing precision
If precise drilling depth control is used for shallow defects, then the manufacturing precision is improved, but the ease of operation decreases due to more complex adjustment procedures
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies preliminary action by pre-configuring the drill bit length and shaft collar position before the drilling operation. The drill bit is selected and trimmed to the exact required length, and the shaft collar is pre-positioned at the corresponding depth mark. This preliminary setup ensures that when drilling begins, the precision for shallow defects is already established, eliminating the need for complex real-time adjustments during the operation and maintaining ease of use.
Data Source
AI summary
Drilling devices, systems, kits and methods for drilling cartilage defects are disclosed. A system includes a handle device having an adjustable shaft collar rotatable to adjust a drill set distance between the adjustable shaft collar and the handle. The handle device can include a distal drill guide extending from the handle at an end opposite the adjustable shaft collar. The system includes a drill collar attachable to a drill bit and configured to remain stationary along a length of the drill bit once attached. The system includes a rotatable disk positionable between the adjustable shaft collar and the drill collar. The rotatable disk can include a central hole sized to accept the drill bit.