Modular Surgical Guide Locator for Precise Bone Resection
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Total joint replacement surgeries face challenges with misalignment of prostheses due to inaccurate bone resections, leading to increased surgery time and exposure to ionizing radiation from fluoroscopy, which prolongs recovery and poses health risks.
Innovation Solution
A modular guide system comprising a guide locator with a conformal surface and a guide element, along with a retention mechanism, that allows precise bone resections using patient-specific anatomical contours, reducing the need for intra-operative fluoroscopy.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If intra-operative fluoroscopy is used to check alignment of intramedullary cavities, then measurement precision is improved, but loss of time increases and object-affected harmful factors increase
Solution Approach 1:
The guide system incorporates pre-manufactured patient-specific anatomical surfaces and guide structures that are prepared before surgery. The guide body with conformal surfaces is custom-made based on pre-operative imaging, allowing the surgeon to simply attach it to the patient's anatomy and perform resections without needing intra-operative fluoroscopy for alignment verification.
Solution Approach 2:
The guide system acts as an intermediary between pre-operative planning and intra-operative execution. It translates pre-operative imaging data into physical guide structures that automatically ensure correct alignment during surgery, eliminating the need for fluoroscopic verification while maintaining measurement precision.
2Measurement precision
If intra-operative fluoroscopy is used to check alignment of intramedullary cavities, then measurement precision is improved, but object-affected harmful factors increase
Solution Approach 1:
The invention extracts the alignment verification function from fluoroscopy and embeds it directly into the physical guide structure. The guide body's conformal surfaces and mechanical fit to patient anatomy provide inherent alignment guidance, eliminating the need for radiation-based verification methods while maintaining measurement precision.
3Manufacturing precision
If traditional jigs or fixtures are used for bone resections, then manufacturing precision can be achieved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The guide system is divided into separate modular components: a patient-specific guide body with conformal surfaces, a separate intramedullary cavity forming tool, and optional corner protectors. This segmentation allows each component to be optimized independently while simplifying the overall system compared to monolithic traditional jigs.
Solution Approach 2:
The guide body serves multiple functions: it provides anatomical positioning through conformal surfaces, guides the intramedullary cavity forming tool, and can accommodate corner protectors. This multi-functionality reduces the need for multiple separate devices while maintaining manufacturing precision.
Data Source
AI summary
A medical device has a guide locator and a guide element. The guide locator has a mount body having a conformal surface that is shaped to be complementary to a natural anatomical surface of a patient bone and defining a mount receptacle. The mount body defines a guide receptacle. The guide element includes a guide body having a shape configured to fit with to attach the guide receptacle of the guide locator and a guide slot formed in the guide body. The guide slot includes at least one opening for receiving a tool therethrough. A retention mechanism is configured to hold the guide element within the guide receptacle of the guide locator.