Modular Toe Fixation With Multiplanar Alignment Adjustment
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing digit fixation methods after bone surgery, such as hammertoe or bunion surgery, often result in recurrent toe deformities and are insufficient for long-term digital alignment, with traditional approaches being invasive or prone to complications.
Innovation Solution
A modular digit fixation system comprising adjustable elongate and cylindrical modules that are attachable to intramedullary rods implanted in digit bones, allowing for multiplanar adjustments to ensure proper alignment and healing.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If bandages are used to maintain toe alignment during healing, then the procedure is simple and non-invasive, but the alignment is not maintained reliably leading to recurrent deformities
Solution Approach 1:
The fixation device is divided into multiple modular components including a body portion, a positioning member, and adjustable elements that can be independently configured. This segmentation allows the device to be customized for different toe alignment requirements while maintaining reliable fixation, resolving the contradiction between reliability and complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The device incorporates adjustable elements such as movable positioning members and modifiable alignment features that allow dynamic adaptation during the healing process. This enables the fixation device to maintain reliable alignment while accommodating swelling or minor positional adjustments, thereby improving reliability without requiring excessive structural complexity.
2Reliability
If pins are driven through toe bones into foot bones for fixation, then alignment can be maintained, but the procedure becomes more invasive and prone to pin breakage
Solution Approach 1:
The invention extracts the alignment maintenance function from invasive transosseous pins and relocates it to an external fixation device that attaches to the digits without penetrating the bone. This eliminates the harmful effects of pin breakage and excessive invasiveness while preserving the reliability of alignment maintenance through external modular fixation.
Solution Approach 2:
The device introduces an intermediary fixation mechanism that connects adjacent digits externally rather than using direct bone-to-bone pin fixation. This intermediary structure distributes mechanical stresses and eliminates the risk of pin breakage while maintaining reliable alignment through the modular body and positioning members.
3Productivity
If traditional fixation methods are used for multiple toes, then surgery can be performed on multiple digits, but long-term multiplanar alignment is insufficient
Solution Approach 1:
The modular fixation device is designed with universal components that can be applied to multiple digits simultaneously. The body portion can accommodate multiple positioning members, and each module can be independently adjusted in multiple planes, enabling both efficient multi-digit surgery and precise multiplanar alignment maintenance.
Solution Approach 2:
The device incorporates multiplanar adjustment capabilities through its modular structure, allowing alignment correction in multiple dimensions (sagittal, frontal, and transverse planes). This dimensional versatility enables precise alignment control for multiple digits simultaneously, resolving the contradiction between surgical efficiency and alignment precision.
Data Source
AI summary
Disclosed herein are various embodiments of a modular digit fixation system that has two or more attachable and adjustable modules. The modules are attachable to separate adjacent digits and each other and have multiplanar adjustability. Two modules are disclosed: an elongate module and a cylindrical module having a body and a slidable clamp. Further, the embodiments also include various related components, devices, methods, and technologies.