Guided Surgical Robot Splint With Adjustable Length and Easy Removal
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing splint devices for surgical robots, particularly in dental surgery, face challenges in achieving reproducible attachment to patient teeth, require careful adhesive application, and are difficult to remove without damaging the teeth, limiting their reusability and adaptability across different patients.
Innovation Solution
A splint device with elongate first and second splint portions featuring longitudinally spaced relief holes and separability provisions, allowing adjustable length and easy removal, along with a tracking portion and kinematic mount for precise surgical guidance, and a fiducial marker element for repeatable reference points.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a rigid splint device is used to ensure stability during surgical procedure, then the reliability of the reference point is improved, but the difficulty of removal increases and reusability is limited
Solution Approach 1:
The splint device is divided into multiple segments including a retainer portion, a mounting portion, and a separability provision. The separability provision includes a relief hole that allows the adhesive to be severed, enabling easy separation of the splint from the teeth while maintaining stability during use. This segmentation allows the device to be both rigid during surgery and easily removable afterward for reuse.
2Reliability
If adhesive material is applied to secure the splint to teeth, then the attachment reliability is improved, but the harmful effects increase due to potential damage to teeth during removal
Solution Approach 1:
The adhesive material is extracted or removed through the relief hole in the separability provision. This allows the adhesive to be cleanly severed and removed from the teeth without requiring forceful removal of the entire splint, thereby preventing damage to the teeth while maintaining secure attachment during the surgical procedure.
Solution Approach 2:
The relief hole acts as an intermediary element between the adhesive and the external environment. It provides a controlled path for the adhesive to be removed or severed, mediating the separation process to prevent direct contact between removal forces and the teeth, thus protecting the teeth from damage.
3Adaptability or versatility
If a universal fit splint design is used to increase adaptability across different patients, then the adaptability is improved, but the manufacturing precision decreases due to variability in tooth sizes and shapes
Solution Approach 1:
The splint device incorporates adjustable elements and separability provisions that allow it to adapt to different tooth configurations. The relief holes and separability features enable the splint to be adjusted or modified for different patients while maintaining adequate precision through the rigid mounting portion that connects to the tracking system.
Data Source
AI summary
A splint device for robotically-guided surgery includes elongate co-extending first and second splint portions each defining spaced-apart relief holes between first and second ends. A first separability provision is disposed between and extends along the first and second splint portions. A tracking portion is engaged with and extends outwardly from the first or second splint portion and extending outwardly therefrom, and has a kinematic mount engaged therewith. A second separability provision extending between one of the relief holes of the first splint portion and one of the relief holes of the second splint portion, wherein the second separability provision is arranged to be severable so as to facilitate adjustability of a length of the first and second splint portions and the first separability provision. The splint device can include a tool calibration provision or a fiducial marker element disposed in a predetermined disposition relative to the kinematic mount.