Drill Guide Assembly with Radiopaque Alignment Bar
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Solution Overview
Problem
Arthroscopic procedures in joints, such as hip joints, face challenges in efficiently and accurately positioning surgical instrumentation due to the complexity of navigating through portals, particularly in accurately aligning and positioning drill guides for procedures like ligament reconstruction.
Innovation Solution
A drill guide assembly comprising a drill sleeve and an alignment bar, where the alignment bar is visible in fluoroscopic images, allowing for precise positioning of the drill sleeve, and includes adjustable housings with guide pins and locking mechanisms for secure alignment, enabling accurate instrument placement and tunnel creation in bones during procedures like ligamentum teres reconstruction.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If traditional drill guides are used in arthroscopic hip procedures, then the surgical portals provide access to the joint, but accurate positioning and alignment of the drill guide becomes difficult and time-consuming
Solution Approach 1:
The alignment bar serves as an intermediary element that connects the external positioning system with the internal drill sleeve positioning. By placing the alignment bar externally and linking it to the drill sleeve through guide pins, the system mediates between fluoroscopic visualization and actual drill guide positioning, enabling accurate alignment without time-consuming trial-and-error adjustments
Solution Approach 2:
The system replaces traditional mechanical trial-and-error positioning with a fluoroscopy-guided positioning system. The radiopaque alignment bar allows visualization through fluoroscopic imaging, substituting direct mechanical alignment with image-guided alignment, thereby improving positioning accuracy while reducing the time required for adjustments
2Measurement precision
If the drill guide assembly includes adjustable components for precise positioning, then positioning accuracy improves, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The drill guide assembly is segmented into distinct functional components: an external positioning system (alignment bar with housings), a connection system (guide pins), and an internal drilling system (drill sleeve). This segmentation allows each component to be optimized independently while maintaining overall simplicity - the alignment bar handles positioning, the guide pins handle connection, and the drill sleeve handles drilling, reducing the complexity burden on any single component
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 drill guide assembly facilitates efficient and accurate positioning of surgical instruments, enhancing the precision and effectiveness of arthroscopic procedures by allowing real-time visualization and adjustment for optimal alignment, thereby improving the success rate of joint reconstruction and resurfacing procedures.
Implementation Method 1
the alignment bar includes a radiopaque member, and the radiopaque member is visible in a fluoroscopic image of a joint for estimating the positioning of the drill sleeve
Data Source
AI summary
A drill guide assembly according to an exemplary aspect of the present disclosure includes, among other things, a drill sleeve and an alignment bar spaced from the drill sleeve. A positioning of the drill sleeve is linked to a positioning of the alignment bar.