Flexible Helical Auger for Medullary Bone Debris Harvesting
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing bone harvesting systems, such as the Reamer/Irrigator/Aspirator (RIA) System, face limitations including stiffness that restricts access to the medullary cavity, potential for non-uniform reaming, require a large entry site, cause blood loss due to vacuum application, and are complex to operate due to simultaneous reaming, irrigation, and aspiration processes.
Innovation Solution
A bone harvesting system utilizing a flexible auger with a helical fin that conforms to the medullary cavity, allowing efficient debris collection through a smaller entry site, reducing damage, and enabling separate control of reaming and aspiration processes.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If a stiff shaft is used in the RIA instrument, then the instrument can maintain structural integrity during reaming, but the instrument cannot access difficult-to-reach medullary cavities and may cause non-uniform reaming
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs a flexible catheter shaft that can bend and conform to the anatomical geometry of the medullary cavity, enabling access to difficult-to-reach areas while maintaining structural integrity through the flexibility of the catheter material and design
Solution Approach 2:
The catheter system allows for dynamic adjustment of the shaft configuration, enabling it to adapt to varying medullary cavity shapes and access angles, thereby improving versatility without compromising strength
2Length of moving object
If a large entry site is created to introduce the RIA cutting head, then the cutting head can be introduced into the medullary cavity, but the risk of post-surgical complications increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent utilizes a nested design where the cutting head and other instruments are introduced through a small entry site by advancing them through the flexible catheter, which acts as a delivery sheath, thereby minimizing the entry site size and reducing surgical complications
Solution Approach 2:
The flexible catheter serves as an intermediary device that facilitates the introduction of the cutting head and other instruments through a minimized entry site, acting as a guide and protective sheath that reduces tissue damage
3Productivity
If vacuum is applied to the medullary cavity during reaming with the RIA instrument, then osseous debris can be aspirated, but blood loss occurs and increases with reaming time
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the aspiration function from the reaming process by using a separate suction catheter that can selectively remove debris and blood, allowing the reaming to proceed without continuous vacuum application that causes excessive blood loss
Solution Approach 2:
The system utilizes controlled fluid dynamics with irrigation and aspiration, using fluid flow to flush debris out of the medullary cavity without requiring continuous vacuum application during reaming, thereby reducing blood loss while maintaining debris removal efficiency
4Productivity
If reaming, irrigation, and aspiration occur simultaneously with the RIA instrument, then the system can collect osseous debris, but the device becomes complicated for the surgeon to operate
Solution Approach 1:
The patent divides the bone harvesting system into separate, independent components: a reaming instrument, an irrigation catheter, and an aspiration catheter. This segmentation allows the surgeon to control each function independently, simplifying operation while maintaining the ability to perform all functions when needed
Solution Approach 2:
The flexible catheter system is designed to be multi-functional, capable of performing irrigation, aspiration, and debris removal through a single access point, thereby maintaining bone harvesting efficiency while simplifying the overall surgical procedure through a unified delivery system
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 system provides more efficient and less invasive bone debris collection with reduced blood loss and operational simplicity by allowing the auger to follow the medullary cavity's shape and separate reaming and aspiration, enhancing the quality of collected osseous debris for bone grafts.
Implementation Method 1
the leading end region of the auger is deformed by contact between the helical fin and a wall of the medullary cavity, to conform the helical fin in the leading end region to a portion of the medullary cavity
Implementation Method 2
Osseous debris is driven toward the entry site with the auger
Data Source
AI summary
Bone harvesting system including methods and devices for obtaining and/or removing osseous debris from a bone using an auger having a flexible, helical fin projecting from a shaft. In an exemplary method, a leading end region of the auger is placed into a reamed portion of a bone's medullary cavity via an entry site extending into the bone. Osseous debris is driven toward the entry site with the auger. At least a portion of the osseous debris that has passed through the entry site is collected outside the bone. In some embodiments, the leading end region of the auger is deformed by contact between the helical fin and a wall of the medullary cavity, to conform the helical fin in the leading end region to a portion of the medullary cavity.