Motorized Orthopedic Tensor With Adjustable Paddles
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional knee joint distractors have limitations such as limited adjustability, susceptibility to slippage, complexity in sterilization, and lack of motorization, leading to inaccurate measurements and increased surgical complexity during knee arthroplasty procedures.
Innovation Solution
A motorized orthopedic tensor system that operates in force control and displacement control modes, capturing force-displacement data pairs to ensure precise application of forces and adjustments, and includes a retainer mechanism for adjustable paddle configurations to accommodate various knee sizes and orientations.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Device complexity
If conventional distractors are designed with fixed configurations to evaluate only left or right knee, then device complexity is reduced, but adaptability deteriorates requiring component replacement for different knees
Solution Approach 1:
The tensor is designed with universal paddles that can accommodate both left and right knees without requiring component replacement. The paddles are configured to circumvent the patellar tendon for either knee orientation, allowing the same device to evaluate both knees by simply repositioning rather than replacing parts.
Solution Approach 2:
The tensor incorporates adjustable and removable paddle configurations that can be dynamically changed during the surgical procedure. This allows the device to adapt to different knee sizes and orientations (left or right) while maintaining a streamlined base design that reduces overall complexity.
2Ease of operation
If conventional distractors use rigid minimally adjustable configurations, then ease of operation is improved, but reliability deteriorates due to increased susceptibility to slippage
Solution Approach 1:
The tensor features adjustable paddle configurations that can be customized to fit different bone sizes and joint geometries. This adjustability increases the contact coverage between the paddle and bone, thereby improving reliability by reducing slippage while maintaining ease of operation through a user-friendly adjustment mechanism.
3Reliability
If conventional distractors require invasive fastening to reduce slippage, then reliability is improved, but ease of operation deteriorates due to additional surgical steps
Solution Approach 1:
The tensor employs an adjustable paddle design that achieves reliable bone contact through customizable fit and contact coverage without requiring invasive fastening procedures. This dynamic adjustment capability allows the surgeon to optimize the paddle-bone interface, improving reliability while avoiding additional surgical steps and bone trauma.
4Reliability
If conventional distractors include exposed parts requiring thorough sterilization, then reliability is improved, but device complexity increases due to disassembly requirements
Solution Approach 1:
The tensor design separates sterilizable components from non-sterilizable components, allowing only the necessary exposed parts to be removed and sterilized. This extraction approach maintains reliability by ensuring proper sterilization of critical surfaces while reducing device complexity by eliminating the need to disassemble and sterilize internal motor components and electronics.
5Adaptability or versatility
If manual trial-and-error process is used to assess knee laxity, then adaptability is improved for subjective judgment, but productivity deteriorates due to prolonged evaluation time
Solution Approach 1:
The motorized tensor incorporates sensors and control systems that provide real-time feedback on force application and joint position. This feedback mechanism allows the system to automatically adjust and optimize the evaluation process, maintaining the adaptability needed for accurate ligament assessment while dramatically improving productivity by eliminating the time-consuming manual trial-and-error process.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces the manual mechanical adjustment process with an automated motorized system that uses sensors and control algorithms to assess knee laxity. This substitution maintains the clinical judgment and adaptability of manual assessment while improving productivity through automated force application and data collection, reducing evaluation time significantly.
Data Source
AI summary
Systems and methods related to an orthopedic tensor for a knee joint. The tensor is motorized and operates in a force control mode and a displacement control mode. A control system controls the tensor in the force control mode to apply forces to the knee joint until a predetermined force is reached. The control system captures a plurality of force-displacement data pairs from the tensor as a result of the forces applied by the tensor in the force control mode. Control of the tensor is switched from the force control mode to the displacement control mode to perform an extension test whereby a displacement of the tensor is progressively decreased according to displacements from the plurality of force-displacement data pairs until the knee joint can reach an acceptable full extension pose during, or after completion of, the extension test.