Femoral Stability Gap Alignment Clamp for Knee Resection
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Solution Overview
Problem
Achieving balanced and stable movement in a prosthetic knee joint through precise preparation of the femoral surface, specifically the distal femur and posterior femoral condyle, is challenging due to individual bone structure variations and damage severity, making it difficult to ensure correct alignment and positioning of the femoral component relative to the tibial component.
Innovation Solution
A generally L-shaped femoral tibia stability gap alignment clamp is used to align and adjust the distal femur and posterior femoral condyle, with user-operable lateral and height adjustable extension tabs to define stability gaps and axes, allowing for precise resection and optimal positioning of the femoral component for balanced angular movement throughout the knee's arc of motion.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If standard size implants are used for knee replacement, then manufacturing cost and inventory management are simplified, but the alignment and positioning accuracy relative to individual patient bone structures deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The alignment clamp is used to pre-establish the correct alignment and positioning of the femoral component relative to the distal femur and posterior femoral condyle before final implantation. This preliminary alignment action ensures that standard size implants can be accurately positioned according to each patient's unique bone structure, resolving the contradiction between standardized manufacturing and precise alignment.
2Reliability
If precise bone resection is performed to achieve balanced stability, then prosthetic knee joint stability is improved, but surgical time and operational complexity increase
Solution Approach 1:
The alignment clamp acts as an intermediary tool that simplifies the complex process of achieving balanced stability. By providing a mechanical reference framework with adjustable extension tabs, it guides the bone resection process to achieve the required stability gaps without requiring complex calculations or multiple trial adjustments, thus reducing surgical time while maintaining prosthetic knee joint stability.
Solution Approach 2:
The alignment clamp establishes the correct resection planes and stability gaps before final bone cutting. This preliminary positioning action ensures that subsequent bone resection follows pre-determined accurate paths, achieving balanced stability more efficiently and reducing overall surgical time.
3Manufacturing precision
If individualized bone preparation is performed for each patient, then alignment accuracy is improved, but surgical procedure complexity and time increase
Solution Approach 1:
The alignment clamp features adjustable extension tabs that can be dynamically positioned to accommodate each patient's unique bone structure. This dynamic adjustability allows the single device to adapt to individual anatomical variations, achieving high alignment accuracy without requiring multiple specialized tools or overly complex surgical procedures.
Solution Approach 2:
The alignment clamp is designed as a universal tool that can be applied to various bone structures and implant sizes. Its multi-functional capabilities include establishing alignment, defining resection planes, and setting stability gaps, all with a single device, thereby reducing surgical procedure complexity while maintaining individualized alignment accuracy.
Data Source
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AI summary
An arrangement for providing the proximal surface of the distal end of the femur and the posterior femoral condyle of the femur for a femoral component of a prosthetic knee joint, said arrangement including an alignment clamp mountable to the femur such that a vertical arm of the alignment clamp includes user operable lateral adjustable extension tabs and a horizontal arm of the alignment clamp that includes user-operable height adjustable extension tabs wherein the lateral and height adjustable tabs engage with a front plate and a base plate which define out reference planes and/or an axis that can be used in establishing the alignment for the definitive resection cuts to the distal end of the femur and the posterior femoral condyle of the femur.