Patient-Specific Orthopedic Alignment Guide with Resorbable Pins
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current orthopedic surgical methods for joint arthroplasty lack precise alignment and resection guides that are patient-specific, leading to potential inaccuracies and complications during bone resection procedures.
Innovation Solution
Development of patient-specific alignment guides with resorbable alignment pins and cutting guides that are custom-made based on individual patient anatomy, allowing for precise bone engagement and resection without the need for post-operative pin removal, using computer-assisted imaging and CAD software to create guides that conform to each patient's unique bone surface.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Manufacturing precision
If patient-specific alignment guides with resorbable alignment pins are used, then manufacturing precision and alignment accuracy are improved, but device complexity increases due to custom fabrication requirements
Solution Approach 1:
The alignment guide is divided into separate modular components: a reusable guide body and disposable alignment pins. This segmentation allows the complex guide body to be reused while the simple pins are discarded, reducing overall manufacturing complexity while maintaining precision.
Solution Approach 2:
The alignment pins are designed as disposable, resorbable components that can be easily replaced. This eliminates the need for complex pin removal procedures and reduces the overall complexity of the system by allowing simple, low-cost pins to be used instead of permanent, complex fastening mechanisms.
2Ease of operation
If resorbable alignment pins are used that can be sawn or cut off during surgery, then ease of operation is improved by eliminating post-operative pin removal, but reliability may be compromised due to potential pin failure or residue
Solution Approach 1:
The alignment pins are made from resorbable materials that change their physical properties over time, gradually dissolving in the bone. This parameter change allows the pins to maintain structural integrity during surgery for reliable alignment, then automatically disappear after healing, eliminating the need for removal while maintaining reliability.
Solution Approach 2:
The resorbable pins perform their function of alignment during surgery, then automatically resorb and disappear without requiring surgical intervention for removal. The body itself completes the final step of removing the pins through biological resorption, making the system self-servicing and eliminating post-operative removal procedures.
3Measurement precision
If patient-specific bone engagement surfaces are created from bone scans, then measurement precision is improved, but loss of time increases due to preoperative imaging and customization requirements
Solution Approach 1:
The alignment guides are custom-designed and manufactured before surgery based on preoperative bone scans. This preliminary action allows the precise patient-specific surfaces to be created in advance, so that during surgery only simple insertion of the pre-fabricated guides is required, minimizing intraoperative time while maintaining high measurement precision.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
Enables precise and minimally invasive bone resections with reduced surgical complexity, as the resorbable pins can be cut or sawn off during surgery, eliminating the need for pin removal and enhancing the accuracy of joint alignment for implant placement.
Implementation Method 1
The alignment pins are resorbable and can be sawn or cut off during a resection of the bone
Data Source
AI summary
A method of preparing a distal femur for a knee joint implant includes mounting a patient-specific bone engagement surface of a femoral alignment guide on a complementary surface of a distal femur of a patient. A plurality of alignment pins is inserted through a corresponding plurality of guiding bores of the femoral alignment guide into the distal femur. A cutting guide is mounted on first and second alignment pins of the plurality of alignment pins, and a first resection of the distal femur is made using the cutting guide while cutting through the femoral alignment guide.