Hip Prosthesis Separation Tool with Fulcrum Mechanism

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Solution Overview

Problem

Current surgical tools for separating a femoral cup from an acetabular ball in a hip prosthesis often require pulling on the acetabular cup or disrupting bone ingrowth, which can lead to complications during revision surgeries.

Innovation Solution

A surgical tool with a dual-handle mechanism featuring a femoral engagement component and an acetabular engagement component, where the handles are biased apart by springs and connected by a fulcrum pin, allowing for the separation of the femoral cup from the acetabular ball without disrupting the bone ingrowth by squeezing the handles together, thus moving the engagement components away from each other.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Reliability

If conventional surgical tools are used to separate the femoral cup from the acetabular ball, then the separation function is achieved, but the bone ingrowth is disrupted

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvebone ingrowth preservationVSAvoidseparation operation difficulty

Core Design Contradiction:

ReliabilityVSEase of operation

Solution Approach 1:

The surgical tool introduces intermediary components (femoral engagement component and acetabular engagement component) that mediate the separation process. These components engage with the prosthesis surfaces and transmit forces through the fulcrum mechanism, allowing separation without direct pulling on the bone-ingrown surfaces.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

Solution Approach 2:

The tool divides the separation function into distinct engagement components: one for the femoral cup and one for the acetabular ball. Each component is optimized for its specific engagement surface, allowing independent force application points that prevent disruption to the bone-prosthesis interface.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #1Segmentation

2Reliability

If force is applied to separate the femoral cup from the acetabular ball, then separation is achieved, but the acetabular cup or femoral implant is damaged

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveimplant integrityVSAvoidseparation force application

Core Design Contradiction:

ReliabilityVSForce

Solution Approach 1:

Instead of pulling directly on the cup or ball to separate them, the tool applies forces in opposite directions on engagement surfaces that are not bone-ingrown. The fulcrum mechanism inverts the force application approach, using leverage to achieve separation through the engagement components rather than direct extraction.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #13The other way round (Inversion)

Solution Approach 2:

The engagement components are designed to replicate the functional surfaces of the prosthesis (femoral cup neck and acetabular ball outer surface) without being the actual bone-ingrown interfaces. This allows force transmission through geometric copies of the engagement surfaces, protecting the original implant structures.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #26Copying

3Reliability

If a simple separation tool is used, then the device complexity is low, but the tool cannot separate without disrupting bone ingrowth

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvebone ingrowth preservationVSAvoidtool structure complexity

Core Design Contradiction:

ReliabilityVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The tool employs dynamic elements including springs that bias the handles apart and a fulcrum pin that enables rotational movement. This dynamic structure allows the engagement components to move relative to each other during the separation process, adapting to the geometry of the prosthesis while maintaining protective engagement with the bone-ingrown surfaces.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #15Dynamics

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

Enables safe and effective separation of the femoral cup from the acetabular ball without disrupting the bone ingrowth, facilitating revision surgeries by providing a tool that can be used as part of a surgical kit with other instruments and implant elements.

Implementation Method 1

Springs (4) tend to bias the handles apart from one another

Methodology Applied

Scientific EffectSpring: Spring

Implementation Method 2

Fulcrum pin (7) hinges the first handle (2) to the second handle (3) so that when the handles are squeezed toward one another the femoral engagement component (5) and the acetabular engagement component (6) are moved away from one another

Methodology Applied

Scientific EffectLever: Lever

Data Source

PatentUS11951022B2Tool and method for separating a femoral cup from an acetabular ball in an implanted hip prosthesis

Publication Date: 2024.04.09 HIP INNOVATION TECHNOLOGY LLC

AI summary

Surgical tools which are used to separate from one another a femoral cup and an acetabular ball in an implanted hip replacement prosthesis. At its distal end, elements of the surgical tool engage the femoral cup and the acetabular cup. When proximal handles of the tool are squeezed toward one another, the engagement elements move away from one another. Thus, a surgeon is able to separate the femoral cup and the acetabular ball from one another without pulling the acetabular cup away from the acetabulum or the femoral cup and/or femoral implant away from the femur, thereby accomplishing the separation without disrupting any bone ingrowth.