Intramedullary Nail Oblique Locking Holes
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current orthopaedic fasteners, such as lag screws, face issues like improper positioning, medial or lateral migration, and neck collapse in treating femoral fractures, leading to instability and complications in fracture healing.
Innovation Solution
An intramedullary nail design featuring multiple oblique holes allows for the placement of locking screws in various positions, providing enhanced stability through an X-shaped geometry when two screws are used in opposing planes, which aids in axial and rotational stability.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If traditional lag screws are used for femoral fractures, then the procedure is simple, but the screws experience improper positioning, medial or lateral migration, and neck collapse leading to instability
Solution Approach 1:
The nail is divided into multiple segments with distinct functional zones: a proximal portion for femoral head engagement, a distal portion for shaft fixation, and intermediate openings for locking screws. This segmentation allows each portion to address specific fracture components independently, improving overall stabilization reliability while maintaining manageable structural complexity through modular design.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention transitions from traditional single-plane screw placement to multi-planar screw configuration by incorporating oblique openings at different angles. The first opening receives a first screw and the second opening receives a second screw in opposing planes, creating an X-shaped geometry that provides rotational and axial stability in three-dimensional space, thereby preventing screw migration and neck collapse.
2Stability of the object's composition
If multiple locking screws are placed in opposing planes, then axial and rotational stability is improved, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The nail incorporates asymmetric opening configurations where the first and second openings are positioned at different oblique angles relative to the longitudinal axis. This asymmetric arrangement creates an X-shaped screw geometry when two screws are placed in opposing planes, providing enhanced rotational and axial stability. The asymmetric design allows the screws to engage bone in non-coplanar positions, preventing migration while maintaining a relatively simple overall device structure.
Data Source
AI summary
An intramedullary nail for use in a medullary canal of a long bone is provided. The nail includes a body defining a longitudinal axis of the body and an external periphery of the body for fitting in the medullary canal of the long bone. The body has a first internal wall thereof defining a first opening through the body. The first opening defines a first opening centerline. The body has a second internal wall of the body defining a second opening through the body. The second opening defines a second opening centerline. The first opening centerline and the second opening centerline are oblique with respect to each other. The longitudinal axis of the body and the first opening centerline form an acute angle between the longitudinal axis of the body and the first opening centerline. The longitudinal axis of the body and the second opening centerline forming an acute angle between the longitudinal axis of the body and the second opening centerline.