Joint Repair Drill Guide for Arced Channels and Minimal Bone Removal
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current anterior and lateral approaches for joint repair, such as total ankle replacement (TAR), involve significant bone removal, especially in osteopenia patients, leading to complications and the need for precise bone preparation with minimal depth of removal.
Innovation Solution
A system and method utilizing a drill guide with arced bores and a drill assembly to create laterally arranged concave channels in the joint end of the bone, accompanied by a joint insert with convex ridges, minimizing the need for pins or screws for stability, and allowing for precise bone preparation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If current anterior or lateral approaches are used for joint repair, then joint replacement can be achieved, but significant amounts of healthy bone are removed
Solution Approach 1:
The bone preparation is segmented into multiple concave channels rather than a single large resection. Each channel is prepared separately with controlled depth and laterally arranged, allowing precise removal of only the necessary bone material while preserving healthy bone tissue.
Solution Approach 2:
The drill guide incorporates arced guide bores that define concave channels with curved geometries. This curvature allows the drill bit to follow a predetermined path that removes bone in a controlled, arcuate manner rather than a straight linear cut, enabling precise shaping of the bone surface to match the convex ridges of the joint insert.
2Ease of manufacture
If flat surfaces are created on the bone, then joint insert installation is simplified, but significant bone removal is required
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of creating a flat surface, the invention uses concave channels with curved surfaces that complement the convex ridges of the joint insert. The arced guide bores in the drill guide create these curved concave surfaces through controlled drilling, allowing the joint insert to seat precisely on the curved bone surface without requiring extensive flat bone removal.
Solution Approach 2:
The bone surface is prepared with different geometries in different locations - concave channels laterally arranged to receive the convex ridges of the joint insert. This localized geometric preparation allows the joint insert to be secured with minimal bone removal, as the concave-convex interface provides mechanical interlocking without requiring large amounts of bone material removal.
3Loss of substance
If minimal bone removal is performed, then bone preservation is improved, but achieving stable joint insert fixation becomes more difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The joint insert stability is achieved through multiple discrete concave channels rather than a single large cavity. Each channel receives a corresponding convex ridge, creating multiple points of mechanical interlocking that collectively provide secure fixation while removing minimal bone material overall.
Solution Approach 2:
The concave channels with curved surfaces provide mechanical interlocking with the convex ridges of the joint insert. The curved geometry creates a friction-fit and mechanical engagement that secures the joint insert without requiring pins, screws, or extensive bone removal, as the curvature itself provides the stabilizing interface.
4Ease of manufacture
If conventional drill assemblies are used, then drilling capability is provided, but the apparatus is complicated and requires reconfiguration for each channel
Solution Approach 1:
The drill guide is designed as a universal instrument with multiple arced guide bores that can create different concave channels by simply repositioning the guide itself rather than reconfiguring the drill assembly. The guide incorporates all necessary guiding features for creating multiple channels, eliminating the need for complex reconfiguration of the drill assembly for each channel preparation.
Solution Approach 2:
The drill guide acts as an intermediary between the drill assembly and the bone. It incorporates the arced guide bores that define the predetermined paths, allowing the drill assembly to simply follow the guide's predetermined geometry rather than requiring the drill assembly itself to be complex or reconfigurable for each channel.
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
This approach reduces bone material removal, enhances stability, and minimizes complications by providing a secure seat for the joint insert, while avoiding extensive bone cutting and soft tissue damage.
Implementation Method 1
a drill bit of the drill assembly will follow predetermined circular path in fixed relation with the frame and moving the drill bit through the predetermined path while the drill bit is rotating to cut the channel
Implementation Method 2
a rigid sheath, a flexible drive shaft within the sheath, a cutting bit at the distal end of the sheath driven via the flexible drive shaft
Data Source
AI summary
The disclosed subject matter relates to a system and method for preparing a surface of a bone proximate a joint, in which the preparation includes boring a plurality of arced channels/troughs in the bone surface using an arch drill assembly guided by plural guide bores along a predetermined longitudinal arc. The bored troughs create a scalloped surface on the bone to which an inverse contoured joint insert/implant having cooperating convex ridges engages. The plural guide bores are also defined by the predetermined longitudinal arc which may be circular or helical. The disclosed subject matter minimizes bone removal and allows greater access options for preparing the bone surface.