Orthopedic Surgical Guide for Precise Minimally Invasive Bone Fusion
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing surgical techniques for correcting hallux valgus deformity, such as Lapidus arthrodesis, require invasive procedures, manual adjustments, and multiple X-ray images, leading to uncertainty in bone fragment positioning and potential mechanical weakness.
Innovation Solution
A reusable orthopedic surgical guide with a frame, cutting window, and correction unit that allows for minimally invasive bone cuts and multidirectional adjustments, guided by a feeler and pins, reducing the need for large incisions and X-ray exposure.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If manual freehand preparation and open approach are used, then the practitioner can perform bone cuts and adjustments, but the positioning uncertainty increases and the surgical time increases
Solution Approach 1:
The surgical guide is prepared beforehand with pre-defined cutting surfaces and positioning features. The guide itself is manufactured with precise geometries that encode the desired bone cut angles and positions, eliminating the need for intraoperative manual measurement and adjustment. This preliminary preparation of the guide ensures high positioning precision while reducing surgical time.
Solution Approach 2:
The surgical guide acts as an intermediary tool between the practitioner and the bone fragments. Instead of directly manipulating bones with hand-held instruments, the guide provides a stable reference framework that mediates the positioning and cutting process. The guide's pre-fabricated surfaces and features serve as an intermediate reference system that ensures accurate bone fragment alignment.
2Measurement precision
If fluoroscopy is used repeatedly for monitoring, then the positioning can be verified, but the X-ray exposure to patients and operators increases
Solution Approach 1:
The surgical guide incorporates pre-marked positions and pre-configured cutting surfaces that are designed to achieve correct positioning without requiring repeated intraoperative verification. The guide's geometry is predetermined to ensure proper alignment, reducing the need for fluoroscopy checks during surgery.
Solution Approach 2:
The surgical guide provides self-verifying features through its rigid structure and pre-defined geometric relationships. Once the guide is properly positioned on the patient's anatomy using external landmarks, its internal geometry automatically ensures correct bone cut positioning without requiring additional imaging verification.
3Ease of operation
If large incisions are made for open approach, then direct visualization and manual manipulation are enabled, but the invasiveness of the procedure increases
Solution Approach 1:
The surgical guide is divided into separate modular components that can be attached to the patient's anatomy through small incisions. The guide itself is a separate instrument that does not require large incisions for insertion, allowing minimally invasive attachment while maintaining the capability for precise bone preparation through the guide's structured openings.
Solution Approach 2:
The surgical guide serves as an intermediary that enables precise bone preparation without requiring direct open exposure. Through the guide's pre-defined cutting surfaces and restricted access pathways, the practitioner can perform accurate bone cuts and preparations while maintaining a minimally invasive approach, eliminating the need for large incisions.
4Manufacturing precision
If multiple adjustment phases are performed manually, then the bone surfaces can be aligned, but the surgical time and positioning uncertainty increase
Solution Approach 1:
The surgical guide is manufactured in advance with pre-aligned cutting surfaces and positioning features. The relative positions and angles of all guide components are predetermined and fixed during guide fabrication, eliminating the need for manual alignment adjustments during surgery. The guide arrives in the operating room already precision-aligned.
Solution Approach 2:
Multiple alignment and positioning functions are merged into a single integrated surgical guide structure. Instead of requiring separate adjustment phases for different aspects of alignment, the guide combines all positioning, angulation, and depth control features into one unified device that achieves complete alignment simultaneously when properly positioned on the patient.
Data Source
AI summary
An orthopedic surgical guide for a surgical operation to fuse two bone fragments, wherein the guide includes:—a frame configured to be removably attached to at least one of the two bone fragments,—a cutting window