Intraoperative Knee Sensor Inserts for Ligament Balancing
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing total knee replacement surgeries lack objective methods for accurately balancing ligament forces and joint alignment, leading to subjective and inconsistent clinical outcomes.
Innovation Solution
An intraoperative surgical system with reconfigurable sensors that measure force and position within the joint space, providing objective data for ligament balancing and joint alignment, allowing for real-time adjustments during the surgical procedure.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If traditional subjective methods are used for ligament balancing, then the surgical procedure is simple, but the clinical outcomes are inconsistent and unreliable
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces subjective mechanical assessment methods with an objective sensor-based measurement system. Force sensors mounted on trial components quantitatively measure ligament forces, substituting the traditional reliance on surgeon tactile feedback and visual assessment with precise instrumental data, thereby improving reliability of clinical outcomes.
Solution Approach 2:
The surgical system incorporates real-time feedback through force sensors that continuously monitor ligament forces during the procedure. The system provides quantitative feedback to the surgeon about force imbalances, enabling iterative adjustments to achieve symmetrical loading. This closed-loop feedback mechanism ensures consistent and reproducible joint balancing.
2Measurement precision
If force sensors are mounted on trial components for measurement, then measurement precision is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges the force measurement function with the existing trial components by mounting force sensors directly on them. This integration combines the trial component's role in joint positioning with force measurement capabilities, achieving precise ligament force measurement without requiring completely separate measurement devices, thus limiting the increase in device complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The trial components serve dual functions: traditional joint positioning and alignment, plus force measurement. By making the trial components multi-functional, the system achieves precise measurement capabilities without proportionally increasing overall device complexity, as the same components perform multiple roles.
3Manufacturing precision
If real-time force measurement is implemented, then ligament balancing accuracy is improved, but surgical time increases
Solution Approach 1:
The force sensors are pre-mounted on the trial components before surgery. This preliminary preparation eliminates time-consuming intraoperative sensor installation and calibration, allowing immediate force measurement upon insertion of the trial components, thus improving joint alignment precision without significantly increasing surgical time.
Data Source
AI summary
Systems and techniques can be provided to generate sensorized insights into the characteristics of a knee joint space during a knee replacement procedure. In some implementations, a sensor support body carrying one or more sensors can be used to measure and inform the clinician of the varus/valgus angles of the tibia and femur, allowing the clinician to adjust the surgical procedure to accommodate the measured angles. The clinician may simulate changes to the load balance across the knee joint in response to potential dimensional changes to the knee joint prior to actually surgically implementing the changes.