Joint Reamer With Depth-Limiting Flange for Precise Tissue Excision
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional surgical reamers lack precision and control in removing defective tissue from joints, often leading to inaccurate depth penetration and potential damage to surrounding healthy tissue.
Innovation Solution
A reamer device with a cutting head featuring multiple cutting blades and a depth-limiting flange that limits the depth of tissue penetration, combined with a shaft that can be flexible for improved access, and includes openings for debris removal, ensuring precise and controlled tissue excision.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If conventional surgical reamers are used to remove defective tissue, then tissue removal can be performed, but depth penetration is inaccurate and surrounding healthy tissue may be damaged
Solution Approach 1:
A depth-limiting flange is introduced as an intermediary element between the cutting blades and the healthy tissue. The flange acts as a physical barrier that contacts the tissue surface to prevent the cutting blades from penetrating beyond the desired depth, thereby protecting healthy tissue while allowing effective removal of defective tissue.
Solution Approach 2:
The depth-limiting flange is pre-configured with a specific height relative to the cutting blades before the surgical procedure. This preliminary setting establishes the maximum penetration depth in advance, ensuring that the cutting blades cannot exceed the predetermined depth limit during tissue removal.
2Manufacturing precision
If a depth-limiting flange is added to the reamer device, then depth control and protection of healthy tissue are improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The reamer device is segmented into distinct functional components: the cutting head with cutting blades, the shaft, and the depth-limiting flange. This segmentation allows each component to perform its specific function independently while maintaining overall device simplicity. The flange is designed as a separate element that can be integrated without complicating the basic reamer structure.
Solution Approach 2:
The depth-limiting flange serves multiple functions simultaneously: it acts as a depth stop to control penetration, a protective barrier for healthy tissue, and a reference surface for positioning. By combining these functions into a single structural element, the device achieves enhanced precision without proportionally increasing complexity.
3Productivity
If multiple cutting blades are used in the cutting head, then tissue removal efficiency is improved, but control over penetration depth becomes more difficult
Solution Approach 1:
Multiple cutting blades are merged into a single cutting head assembly that rotates as one unit. All blades are positioned at the same radial distance from the rotation axis and share a common mounting structure, ensuring they all operate at the same depth. The depth-limiting flange further unifies the depth control for all blades by providing a single reference surface that constrains the entire cutting head.
Data Source
AI summary
Embodiments of a reamer device for removing tissue from a patient, including a shaft, a cutting head having at least four cutting blades, and a depth-limiting flange extending radially outwardly away from the at least four cutting blades. Some embodiments of the reamer device can have a shaft, a cutting head coupled with the shaft, and a depth limiting element. The cutting head can have at least four cutting blades. In some embodiments, the depth limiting element can have a distal surface configured to contact a surface of the patient's tissue to limit a depth into the patient's tissue that the at least four cutting blades can advance to, and/or can be configured to extend radially outwardly of the at least four cutting blades so that the depth limiting element contacts a surface of the patient's tissue adjacent to a cutout created by the at least four cutting blades.