Custom Knee Osteotomy Guide for Precise Drill Hole Alignment
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing tools and procedures for knee osteotomies, such as high tibial osteotomies, lack accuracy and precision in correcting the alignment of the knee joint, leading to suboptimal pressure distribution between the tibia and femur.
Innovation Solution
A custom-made surgical guide that conforms to the bone's surface contours, featuring drill guides positioned to form holes in a predetermined pattern for securing implants, allowing for precise alignment and securement of osteotomy implants before altering the bone geometry, utilizing a 3D model to determine initial and final positions of drill holes and guiding drill bits to these positions.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If existing tools and procedures are used for knee osteotomy, then the procedure can be performed, but the accuracy and precision of knee alignment correction is insufficient
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies preliminary action by creating a custom surgical guide before the actual osteotomy procedure. The guide is designed based on preoperative planning and patient-specific anatomy, allowing drill holes to be positioned with high precision before the bone cut is made. This preliminary preparation ensures that fastener holes will align correctly with the implant after the osteotomy, resolving the precision problem.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent uses a custom surgical guide as an intermediary tool between the surgeon and the bone. This guide acts as a mediator that translates the preoperative plan into precise physical drill hole positions. The guide includes drill guides that constrain drill bit positions, ensuring accurate hole placement without requiring the surgeon to manually calculate and mark each hole position, thus improving both measurement and manufacturing precision.
2Measurement precision
If a custom-made guide conforming to bone surface contours is used, then alignment accuracy is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality by creating a guide with a bone-contacting surface that is specifically contoured to match the patient's unique bone anatomy. Rather than making the entire guide complex, only the bone-contacting portion is customized to achieve precise positioning. The rest of the guide structure can be simpler, focusing complexity only where it is needed for accuracy.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent uses copying by creating a digital 3D model of the patient's bone from CT or MRI scans, then using this digital copy to design the custom guide. This allows the guide to be precisely fitted to the bone's surface contours without requiring complex physical measurements during surgery. The digital model serves as a template that simplifies the translation from patient anatomy to guide design.
3Manufacturing precision
If drill holes are positioned before bone geometry alteration, then final implant alignment is ensured, but the procedure requires reverse planning complexity
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies preliminary action by performing reverse planning in the preoperative phase. The surgical guide is designed based on the desired final implant position and the planned bone geometry change. This allows the drill hole positions to be predetermined accurately, accounting for the future bone shape after osteotomy. The guide incorporates this reverse-planned information into its physical structure, eliminating the need for complex intraoperative calculations.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces the mechanical system of manual measurement and calculation with a computer-aided design and manufacturing (CAD/CAM) system. Software is used to perform the reverse planning, calculate drill hole positions, and design the guide geometry. This computational approach handles the complexity of reverse planning more efficiently than manual methods, reducing the burden on the surgeon and improving accuracy.
Data Source
AI summary
A guide for guiding drill bits to form holes in a bone in a predetermined pattern for receiving fasteners to secure an implant to the bone is provided. The guide includes a guide body having a bone interface side opposite an operative side, the bone interface side having a bone contacting surface engageable with a surface of the bone. The guide also includes a plurality of drill guides extending from the operative side of the guide body for guiding corresponding drill bits, wherein the bone contacting surface of the guide body is configured to substantially conform to surface contours of the bone at a predetermined position on the bone. A method of designing the guide is also provided.