Disposable Bone Reamer With Concentric Blade-Drill Integration
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current bone reamers are costly, time-consuming to manufacture, prone to dullness and contamination, require multiple steps for preparation, and do not easily assess cutting efficiency, leading to potential surgical complications and increased costs due to varying surgeon preferences and reusability issues.
Innovation Solution
A disposable bone reamer with a novel blade and adjustable outer profile design, allowing for simultaneous reaming and drilling in one step, featuring a removable member for customizable shape and reduced tissue damage, composed of biocompatible materials for cost-effectiveness and safety.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If traditional reusable bone reamers are used, then cutting performance can be maintained through sharpening, but manufacturing costs and sterilization risks increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies the disposable principle by designing a bone reamer that is intended for single use only. The reamer includes a cutting head with cutting elements that are not designed to be sharpened or reused. After one use, the entire reamer is discarded. This eliminates the need for expensive sharpening services and sterilization processes, reducing overall costs while maintaining reliable cutting performance during the single use period.
2Manufacturing precision
If multiple reaming steps are used to prepare bone surfaces, then implant fit precision improves, but surgical time increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges multiple reaming functions into a single reamer tool. The reamer includes both a reaming portion with cutting elements for removing bone and a drilling portion with a drill bit for creating pilot holes. This allows the surgeon to perform both reaming and drilling operations in one continuous action, eliminating the need for separate reaming steps while maintaining precise implant fit.
Solution Approach 2:
The reamer is designed as a multi-functional tool that can perform multiple bone preparation tasks. The cutting head includes both reaming blades for surface preparation and a central drill bit for hole creation. This universal design allows one tool to replace what traditionally required multiple specialized tools and sequential steps, reducing surgical time while achieving the same precision outcomes.
3Object-affected harmful factors
If reusable reamers are sterilized repeatedly, then infection risk decreases, but cumulative contamination risk increases
Solution Approach 1:
The disposable reamer eliminates the need for repeated sterilization cycles. Each reamer is manufactured sterile and used once, then discarded. This approach guarantees sterility for each use without the cumulative risk of contamination that can occur with repeated sterilization of reusable tools. The single-use nature ensures that no matter how many times a reusable reamer is sterilized, the disposable version provides consistent sterility assurance.
4Manufacturing precision
If traditional precision machining is used to manufacture cutting heads, then cutting accuracy improves, but manufacturing time and cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the manufacturing parameters from traditional precision machining to injection molding. The cutting head is manufactured by injecting molten material into a mold that defines the precise geometry of the cutting elements. This parameter change allows mass production of cutting heads with consistent precision at much lower cost and faster production rates compared to machining each head individually from solid material.
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 manufacturing costs, minimizes surgical complications by ensuring sharp and sterile tools, and enhances precision and efficiency in preparing bone surfaces for orthopedic implants, aligning with surgeon preferences.
Implementation Method 1
The surgeon would rotate the reamer using an external rotatable drive source such that the cutting teeth rotate to remove bone from the glenoid surface
Data Source
AI summary
A bone reamer includes a shaft having a first and a second end. The second end is configured to connect to a rotating power source. A head of the reamer includes a rear face connected to the first end of the shaft, a cutting face on an opposing side of the head relative to the rear face, and a perimeter portion having an inner perimeter diameter and an outer perimeter diameter. The outer perimeter diameter defines outer boundaries of the rear face and the cutting face. A blade member of the reamer is disposed upon the cutting face and extends at least across the inner perimeter diameter of the perimeter portion. A center drill bit is disposed on the cutting face. The drill bit and cutting blade are concentric about a center axis of the reamer.