Dental Surgical Guide Mating Connectors Without Metal Pins
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current dental implant surgical guides require metal pins for connection, which are cumbersome, risky, and interfere with surgical visibility and irrigation, leading to inefficiencies and safety concerns.
Innovation Solution
A dental implant surgical guide assembly using secure, friction-fit mating connectors with a specific geometry, eliminating the need for metal pins and allowing for easier assembly, improved visibility, and enhanced irrigation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If metal pins are used to connect guide pieces together, then the guides can be securely assembled, but the procedure is slowed down and safety risks increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent removes metal pins entirely from the connection system, replacing them with an integrated friction-fit mechanism built into the guide structure itself. The protrusions and sockets are formed as integral parts of the guide pieces, eliminating the need for separate fastening components and their associated handling time.
Solution Approach 2:
The connection mechanism is self-assembling through friction-fit engagement. The protrusions naturally insert into the sockets and self-lock through friction without requiring additional fastening actions, tools, or steps by the surgeon, making the assembly process automatic and instantaneous.
2Ease of manufacture
If metal pins are used to connect guide pieces, then the guides can be assembled, but the risk of pins being dropped, lost, or entering the patient's airway increases
Solution Approach 1:
The dangerous metal pin components are completely extracted from the system. Instead, the patent uses integrated plastic or biocompatible material protrusions and sockets that are part of the guide structure itself, eliminating the risk of loose metal fragments entering the patient's airway or being lost in the surgical field.
Solution Approach 2:
The connection elements (protrusions and sockets) are merged into the guide structure as integral components rather than separate parts. This integration ensures that no loose components can detach and cause harm, while still providing secure mechanical connection between guide pieces.
3Reliability
If guides seat directly on the bone, then the guides can be stabilized, but visibility of the anatomy and irrigation become challenging
Solution Approach 1:
The guide structure incorporates a nested spacing layer between the outer guide surface and the bone interface. This internal spacing structure allows the guide to be stabilized on the bone while maintaining an external gap that improves visibility and allows irrigation fluid to reach the surgical site effectively.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces a vertical dimension of spacing between the guide and bone surface, creating a gap space that simultaneously maintains stabilization (through internal anchoring) and improves visibility/irrigation (through external spacing). This dimensional separation resolves the conflict between stability and accessibility.
4Reliability
If multiple tiny metal pins are placed and removed during surgery, then the guides can be connected, but the surgery time increases and anesthesia time increases
Solution Approach 1:
The time-consuming metal pin insertion and removal process is completely extracted from the surgical workflow. The friction-fit protrusion-socket mechanism allows for instantaneous assembly and disassembly as a single integrated action, dramatically reducing the time guides need to be manipulated during surgery and thereby reducing anesthesia time.
Solution Approach 2:
The connection mechanism performs its own assembly function automatically through friction-fit engagement without requiring the surgeon's time and attention for manual pin insertion, tightening, and removal. This self-assembling capability frees up surgical time for other critical tasks.
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 speeds up surgery, reduces anesthesia time, minimizes risks, and lowers costs by simplifying the guide design, while ensuring better surgical visibility and irrigation.
Implementation Method 1
The connectors fit securely to lock two pieces together and are self-retaining as is or with water to allow for a smooth draw
Data Source
AI summary
A dental implant surgical guide assembly includes a first arcuate guide defining sockets and a second arcuate guide having protrusions. The protrusions are mated to the sockets and the protrusions are longitudinally aligned with the sockets. The surgical guide assembly has a secure, close-to friction-fit with mating connectors having a particular geometry, simplifying the overall guide design.