Patient-Specific Guide Blocks for Revision Knee Surgery
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
In revision knee surgeries, existing orthopedic surgical instruments are generic and lack specificity to individual patient anatomy and implanted prostheses, leading to increased surgical complexity and uncertainty in instrument placement.
Innovation Solution
Customized patient-specific guide blocks with prosthesis-specific negative contours and bone-facing surfaces are designed to match the contours of individual prosthetic components and patient bones, allowing precise alignment and placement of surgical instruments during procedures.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If generic orthopedic surgical instruments are used in revision knee surgeries, then device complexity is reduced and ease of manufacture is improved, but measurement precision and positioning accuracy deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
Patient-specific instruments are fabricated before surgery based on pre-operative imaging data (CT or MRI scans) and the known geometry of the implanted prosthesis. This preliminary customization allows the surgical team to plan the revision procedure in advance with precise knowledge of instrument placement requirements, eliminating the need for intraoperative guessing while maintaining relatively simple instrument designs that can be manufactured using additive manufacturing or CNC machining.
2Manufacturing precision
If customized patient-specific guide blocks are used, then measurement precision and instrument placement accuracy are improved, but device complexity and manufacturing difficulty increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patient-specific guide blocks are created as digital 3D models that precisely copy the geometry of the patient's unique anatomy and the implanted prosthesis. These digital models are then used to generate manufacturing files for fabricating physical guide blocks that perfectly fit the patient's bone surfaces and engage with the existing prosthesis. This copying approach ensures high manufacturing precision while enabling automated manufacturing processes that reduce manual fabrication complexity.
3Reliability
If generic surgical instruments are used, then ease of operation is maintained through standardization, but reliability and consistency of surgical outcomes deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
Rather than making all instruments identical and generic, the patient-specific approach applies customization only to the critical interface between the guide block and the patient's anatomy. The guide blocks have locally tailored surfaces that match the patient's unique bone contours and prosthesis geometry, ensuring reliable and consistent positioning. The rest of the instrument can remain relatively simple and easy to operate, combining local customization with overall operational simplicity.
Data Source
AI summary
A surgical instrument including a customized patient-specific guide block is disclosed. The customized patient-specific guide block includes a first surface, a bone-facing surface, a second surface positioned opposite the first surface and the bone-facing surface, and a guide pin hole extending between the second surface and the bone-facing surface. The first surface has a customized prosthesis-specific negative contour shaped to match a corresponding contour of a prosthetic component, and the customized prosthesis-specific negative contour includes a concave surface shaped to match a convex surface of the corresponding contour of the prosthetic component. A method of performing an orthopedic surgical procedure is also disclosed.