Intraoperative Sensor System for Knee Arthroplasty Load Balancing
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current joint replacement surgeries, such as total knee arthroplasty, face challenges in accurately balancing soft tissue forces and aligning prosthetic components, leading to variable clinical outcomes due to subjective assessment methods and limited options for correcting balance issues during the procedure.
Innovation Solution
An intraoperative surgical system equipped with sensors to measure force and position within the joint, allowing for objective data collection and real-time feedback to the surgeon, enabling precise ligament balancing and prosthetic component alignment, and featuring a reconfigurable design to accommodate different stages of the surgical process.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If subjective assessment methods are used for soft tissue balancing, then the surgical procedure can be performed with traditional tools, but the accuracy and consistency of joint balancing is poor
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces subjective mechanical assessment methods with an objective sensor-based measurement system. Force sensors and position sensors are integrated into the surgical system to automatically measure soft tissue forces, ligament tension, and joint alignment, eliminating reliance on surgeon estimation and improving measurement precision without requiring complex manual instrumentation.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements real-time feedback mechanisms where sensors continuously monitor joint forces, ligament tension, and component alignment during the surgical procedure. This feedback is displayed to the surgeon, enabling dynamic adjustment of the balancing process to achieve optimal joint alignment and soft tissue balance with improved accuracy.
2Productivity
If traditional gap balancing techniques are used, then the surgical procedure is straightforward, but the ability to correct balance issues in real-time is limited
Solution Approach 1:
The sensor system provides real-time feedback on ligament balance status during the surgical procedure, allowing the surgeon to immediately identify and correct balance issues. The system monitors forces across ligaments and joint surfaces, enabling dynamic adjustment of gap balancing techniques to achieve optimal balance while maintaining surgical efficiency.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent makes the surgical system dynamic by allowing real-time adjustment of balancing parameters based on sensor feedback. The system can adapt to different patient anatomies and joint conditions during the procedure, providing versatility in correcting balance issues while maintaining a streamlined surgical workflow.
3Loss of information
If multiple sensor types are integrated into the system, then comprehensive measurement capability is achieved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines multiple sensor types (force sensors, position sensors, and potentially other sensing mechanisms) into an integrated surgical system. By merging these sensors into a unified platform with centralized processing and display, the system achieves comprehensive measurement capability while minimizing the increase in overall device complexity through consolidation and coordinated operation.
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 consistent and comparable data sets for informed surgical decisions, improving the accuracy of joint balancing and alignment, leading to more consistent and effective clinical outcomes across various patient anatomies and joint conditions.
Implementation Method 1
The force sensor(s) of the sensor system can inform the surgeon of the amount of force provided by the ligament structure across the joint and/or the force balance between the medial and lateral sides of the joint.
Implementation Method 2
The one or more force sensors 106 may be positioned between sensor support body 102 and sensor cover 104 to measure a force across the tibiofemoral joint.
Implementation Method 3
The surgical system may include one or more position sensors operable to provide positional information about one or both bones defining the joint being replaced.
Data Source
AI summary
A method of performing knee arthroplasty may involve resecting each of a tibia and a femur defining a tibiofemoral joint and inserting a sensor support body carrying a force sensor into the joint with both the tibia and the femur resected. The method can involve measuring a force across the tibiofemoral joint without a prosthetic trial component installed on either of the bones to provide a full-gap force measurement. The method may further involve installing a prosthetic trial component on the tibia and/or the femur and inserting the sensor support body carrying the force sensor into the tibiofemoral joint with the prosthetic trial component installed. The method can further include measuring the force across the tibiofemoral joint to provide a trialing force measurement.