Orthopedic Driver Instrument Guide Sleeve and Preload Assembly
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing driver instruments for bone anchors in orthopedic surgery face challenges in usability, patient trauma, and assembly complexity, with a need for improved protection of tissue and simplified assembly and disassembly processes.
Innovation Solution
The development of a driver instrument featuring a guide sleeve to protect tissue, a preload assembly for maintaining engagement with the bone anchor, and a simple tool-free assembly and disassembly design, allowing adjustment of the driver shaft's protrusion and inclusion of a release button for easy removal, along with a guide sleeve that can be used with bone anchor assemblies with or without extension tabs.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a driver instrument is designed with multiple components for driving bone anchors, then the functionality and reliability are improved, but the assembly complexity and difficulty of cleaning/sterilizing increase
Solution Approach 1:
The driver instrument is divided into separable components including a handle, a shaft, and a driver tip that can be detached from one another. This segmentation allows each component to be independently cleaned and sterilized, reducing the overall complexity of the cleaning process while maintaining the reliability of the complete instrument system.
Solution Approach 2:
The driver tip is designed to be extractable from the shaft, allowing it to be removed for separate sterilization or replacement. This extraction capability simplifies the cleaning process by enabling focused attention on the most contaminated component while maintaining the integrity of the complete instrument assembly.
2Ease of operation
If rotating components are used to drive the bone anchor, then the driving function is improved, but the risk of tissue damage from rotating components increases
Solution Approach 1:
A protective sleeve is introduced as an intermediary component between the rotating driver components and the surrounding tissue. This sleeve rotates with the driver components but maintains a protective barrier that prevents direct contact between rotating elements and soft tissue, thereby eliminating the harmful effect while preserving the driving function.
Solution Approach 2:
The protective sleeve is designed as a flexible covering that can accommodate the rotation and movement of the driver components while maintaining continuous protection of the surrounding tissue. The flexible nature of the sleeve allows it to move with the rotating components without compromising the protective function.
3Reliability
If the driver shaft is held firmly in the body during driving, then the engagement reliability is improved, but the ease of removal and disassembly decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The engagement mechanism transitions from a static fixed connection to a dynamic system where the driver shaft can be firmly engaged during the driving operation through threaded or friction-based connection, and then easily disengaged through a release mechanism. This dynamic approach allows the system to provide both strong engagement during use and easy removal when needed.
Solution Approach 2:
The driver shaft incorporates a self-retaining feature that automatically maintains firm engagement during the driving operation through spring-loaded or elastic deformation mechanisms, while allowing simple manual actuation for removal. The system serves itself by maintaining engagement without continuous external force while enabling easy release when actuated.
4Adaptability or versatility
If extension tabs are included on the bone anchor assembly, then the adaptability to different bone anchor configurations is improved, but the complexity of protecting these tabs during insertion increases
Solution Approach 1:
The protective sleeve is designed with a universal structure that can accommodate bone anchor assemblies with or without extension tabs. The sleeve's internal geometry and flexibility allow it to provide protection in both configurations without requiring different protective mechanisms, thereby simplifying the overall design while maintaining adaptability.
Data Source
AI summary
Driver instruments are disclosed herein with various features for improving usability, easing the task of cleaning or sterilizing the instrument, reducing patient trauma associated with use of the instrument, and/or reducing the cost and assembly burden of the instrument. For example, a driver instrument can include a guide sleeve to protect patient tissue from damage caused by rotating components of the instrument or a bone anchor assembly coupled thereto, and to protect extension tabs of the bone anchor assembly from inadvertent separation. By way of further example, an instrument can include a preload assembly for maintaining engagement of a driver shaft of the instrument with a bone anchor assembly. As yet another example, an instrument can consist of a small number of components which are configured for simple, tool-free assembly and disassembly. An instrument can also be configured for use with bone anchor assemblies with and without extension tabs.