Patella Drill Guide with Moveable Bracket and Etch Marks
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current orthopaedic surgical instruments lack an efficient and precise method for preparing and securing a prosthetic patella component to a patient's resected patella during joint arthroplasty, as they do not provide adequate guidance for drilling fixation holes and sizing the prosthetic component correctly.
Innovation Solution
A patella drill guide with a moveable bracket system, a drill plate featuring guide holes and etch marks for size indication, and a clamp actuation mechanism, along with a compression gasket for securing the prosthetic component, allowing for precise drilling and sizing of the patella prosthetic component.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Manufacturing precision
If a traditional drill guide is used, then the drilling operation can be performed, but the precision and accuracy of drill hole placement is insufficient
Solution Approach 1:
The drill guide is divided into separate modular components including a guide body, bracket, and positioning elements that can be independently adjusted and assembled. This segmentation allows for precise customization of drill hole placement while keeping each component relatively simple in structure.
Solution Approach 2:
The drill guide instrument is designed with multi-functional capabilities, incorporating both drilling guidance and positioning functions within a single integrated system. The guide can accommodate different drill sizes and configurations, making it universally applicable while maintaining high precision through its standardized interface design.
2Adaptability or versatility
If a fixed-size drill guide is used, then the device structure is simple, but it cannot accommodate different patella sizes correctly
Solution Approach 1:
The drill guide incorporates movable and adjustable components that allow dynamic reconfiguration for different patella sizes. The bracket system can be positioned at various locations, and the guide body can be adjusted to accommodate different anatomical variations, providing adaptability without requiring multiple fixed-size instruments.
Solution Approach 2:
The instrument allows for parameter adjustments including position, orientation, and spacing of the drill guide openings. These parameter changes enable the same basic structure to adapt to different patella sizes by modifying the geometric parameters of the guide rather than changing the entire device.
3Productivity
If multiple separate instruments are used for clamping and drilling, then each instrument can be optimized for its specific function, but the overall procedure time increases
Solution Approach 1:
The instrument combines the clamping function and drilling guidance function into a single integrated device. The bracket system that secures the guide to the patella also serves as the positioning mechanism for the drill holes, eliminating the need for separate instruments and reducing procedure time while maintaining functional optimization.
Solution Approach 2:
The integrated instrument performs multiple functions including clamping, positioning, and guiding drill holes within a single device structure. This multi-functionality increases surgical efficiency by reducing the number of instrument changes and setup procedures, while the universal design allows the same structure to handle both mechanical clamping and precise drilling guidance.
4Measurement precision
If visual markers are added to indicate patella size, then sizing accuracy is improved, but the instrument becomes more complex
Solution Approach 1:
The drill guide incorporates visual markers such as colored bands, etched lines, or translucent regions on the guide body that indicate different patella size ranges. These visual indicators provide quick and accurate sizing information during surgery without adding complex mechanical measurement devices, maintaining simplicity while improving measurement precision.
Solution Approach 2:
The visual markers serve as an intermediary between the physical dimensions of the patella and the surgeon's visual assessment. By translating size information into visible indicators on the guide, the system improves sizing accuracy without requiring direct mechanical measurement, thus avoiding additional complexity in the instrument structure.
Data Source
AI summary
An orthopaedic surgical instrument includes a patella drill guide having a first bracket, a second bracket coupled to the first bracket and moveable relative to the first bracket. The second bracket includes a drill plate having a plurality of guide holes defined therein.