Electromagnetic Orthopaedic Impactor for Controlled Implant Seating
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional orthopaedic impactors used in procedures like total hip arthroplasties face challenges in delivering consistent force, leading to inconsistent implant stability due to manual mallets, and powered impactors with pressurized chambers can be bulky and prone to integrity issues, posing risks during surgery.
Innovation Solution
An orthopaedic impactor with a strike assembly and winding that generates a magnetic field to impart force, allowing for variable force and frequency control, and a connector that moves between positions to apply forces in different directions, ensuring consistent and controlled implantation or removal forces.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If a handheld mallet is used to deliver impacting force, then the equipment is simple and easy to operate, but the force applied to the implant is inconsistent leading to variable implant stability
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces the manual mechanical mallet system with an electromechanical impactor that uses a motor to drive a strike assembly. This substitution eliminates the variability introduced by manual swinging while maintaining relative simplicity of the overall system, thereby achieving consistent impacting force without excessive complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces controllable parameters through the motor system, allowing precise control of impact force, frequency, and duration. By changing the operational parameters of the motor (speed, torque, pulse duration), the system delivers consistent and repeatable impacting forces, resolving the reliability issue while keeping the device manageable in complexity.
2Reliability
If a powered impactor with pressurized energy storage chamber is used, then consistent impacting force is delivered and physical exertion is reduced, but the device becomes bulky and prone to integrity issues
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts and eliminates the pressurized energy storage chamber from the system. Instead of storing energy under pressure and releasing it, the design uses a motor to generate force on-demand. This removal of the pressurized chamber eliminates the associated bulk, integrity risks, and complexity while maintaining consistent force delivery through electronic control.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces the pneumatic/hydraulic energy storage and release mechanism with an electromechanical motor system. This substitution eliminates the need for pressurized chambers and their associated risks, while providing precise control over impact parameters through electrical control, thereby reducing device complexity and improving safety.
3Strength
If too much impact force is used, then the implant is securely affixed to the bone, but excessive strain in the bone may lead to fracture
Solution Approach 1:
The patent incorporates feedback mechanisms that monitor the impacting process in real-time. By measuring parameters such as impact force, displacement, and resistance, the system adjusts subsequent impacts to achieve optimal fixation without exceeding bone strength limits. This closed-loop control prevents both under- and over-impaction, eliminating the harmful extremes.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent employs dynamic control of impact parameters, adjusting force, frequency, and duration based on real-time conditions. The motor-driven strike assembly can vary its output dynamically during the implantation process, allowing the system to adapt to bone quality variations and implant characteristics, thereby achieving secure fixation without causing fracture.
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 impactor provides a consistent and controlled force delivery, reducing the risk of implant instability and bone fracture, while being more compact and safer than traditional powered impactors with pressurized chambers.
Implementation Method 1
a winding arranged to receive a current and thereby induce a magnetic field; wherein the winding is arranged to interact with the strike assembly so that, in use, a magnetic field generated by the winding causes the strike assembly to move so as to impart the force to the object
Data Source
AI summary
There is disclosed an orthopaedic impactor, comprising: a strike assembly arranged to impart a force to an object; and a winding arranged to receive a current and thereby generate a magnetic field. The winding is arranged to interact with the strike assembly so that, in use, a magnetic field generated by the winding causes the strike assembly to move so as to impart the force to the object.