Patient-Matched Surgical Guide Using CT Data

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Solution Overview

Problem

Current surgical technologies face challenges in accurately placing and aligning instruments and implants due to irregular patient anatomy, often relying on costly and time-consuming pre-operative planning and real-time image-guided systems, which can lead to misalignment and inefficiency during procedures.

Innovation Solution

A system and method utilizing MRI or CT data to create customized surgical apparatus with multiple matching points, allowing for precise alignment and orientation based on patient-specific anatomy, using 3D CAD software and rapid prototyping to generate prototypes that accommodate anatomical features and constraints, thereby reducing the likelihood of misalignment and improving procedural efficiency.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Measurement precision

If pre-operative planning with real-time image-guided systems is used, then placement accuracy is improved, but surgical time and system cost increase

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveplacement accuracyVSAvoidsurgical time
Core Design Contradiction:
Measurement precisionVSLoss of time

Solution Approach 1:

The surgical guide is pre-manufactured using patient-specific anatomical data from pre-operative imaging. The guide is designed beforehand with patient-specific anatomical features and multiple matching points, eliminating the need for real-time image-guided adjustments during surgery. This pre-planning approach improves placement accuracy while reducing intraoperative time.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #10Preliminary action

Solution Approach 2:

The patent creates a physical copy of the patient's anatomy through a surgical guide manufactured from pre-operative imaging data. The guide replicates patient-specific anatomical features and includes multiple matching points that correspond to anatomical landmarks, providing a tangible reference during surgery without requiring real-time image guidance systems.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #26Copying

2Measurement precision

If pre-operative planning with real-time image-guided systems is used, then placement accuracy is improved, but system cost increases

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveplacement accuracyVSAvoidsystem cost
Core Design Contradiction:
Measurement precisionVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The patent creates a physical copy of the patient's anatomy through a surgical guide manufactured from pre-operative imaging data. The guide replicates patient-specific anatomical features and includes multiple matching points that correspond to anatomical landmarks, providing a tangible reference during surgery without requiring real-time image guidance systems.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #26Copying

Solution Approach 2:

The surgical guide is designed as a disposable, patient-specific device manufactured through rapid prototyping. This approach replaces expensive, complex real-time image-guided systems with a relatively simple, single-use guide that provides sufficient accuracy for the procedure, significantly reducing system cost while maintaining placement precision.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #27Cheap short-living objects (Disposable)

3Ease of manufacture

If limited data points are used for matching, then guide manufacturing is simplified, but alignment precision deteriorates

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveguide manufacturing simplicityVSAvoidalignment precision
Core Design Contradiction:
Ease of manufactureVSMeasurement precision

Solution Approach 1:

The surgical guide is divided into multiple discrete matching points distributed across the guide structure. Each matching point corresponds to a specific anatomical landmark, and the collective set of these segmented points provides comprehensive alignment reference. This segmentation allows the guide to be manufactured from standard imaging data while achieving high alignment precision through multiple reference points.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #1Segmentation

Solution Approach 2:

The patent transitions from using a single reference point to multiple matching points distributed in three-dimensional space. This dimensional expansion of reference points provides robust alignment capability, ensuring accurate positioning even when individual points may vary, while the manufacturing process remains straightforward through rapid prototyping.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #17Another dimension (Dimensionality change)

4Measurement precision

If customized surgical guides are manufactured, then patient-specific accuracy is improved, but manufacturing complexity increases

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvepatient-specific accuracyVSAvoidmanufacturing complexity
Core Design Contradiction:
Measurement precisionVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The surgical guide is pre-manufactured using patient-specific anatomical data from pre-operative imaging. The guide is designed beforehand with patient-specific anatomical features and multiple matching points, eliminating the need for real-time image-guided adjustments during surgery. This pre-planning approach improves placement accuracy while reducing intraoperative time.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #10Preliminary action

Solution Approach 2:

The patent creates a physical copy of the patient's anatomy through a surgical guide manufactured from pre-operative imaging data. The guide replicates patient-specific anatomical features and includes multiple matching points that correspond to anatomical landmarks, providing a tangible reference during surgery without requiring real-time image guidance systems.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #26Copying

Data Source

PatentEP2588009B1Patient matching surgical guide
Publication Date: 2018.12.26 FREY CO LTD
  • EP2588009B1 patent drawingFigure 1
  • EP2588009B1 patent drawingFigure 2
  • EP2588009B1 patent drawingFigure 3~4

AI summary

A system and method for developing customized apparatus for use in one or more surgical procedures is disclosed. The system and method incorporates a patient's unique anatomical features or morphology, which may be derived from capturing MRI data or CT data, to fabricate at least one custom apparatus. According to a preferred embodiment, the customized apparatus comprises a plurality of complementary surfaces based on a plurality of data points from the MRI or CT data. Thus, each apparatus may be matched in duplicate and oriented around the patient's own anatomy, and may further provide any desired axial alignments or insertional trajectories. In an alternate embodiment, the apparatus may further be aligned with at least one other apparatus used during the surgical procedure.