Patient-Specific Osteotomy Guide for Precise Tibial Realignment
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional joint replacements for osteoarthritis, such as full joint replacements, require significant removal of the articular surface and have limited lifespan, often necessitating subsequent surgeries and are prone to complications like infection and osteolysis, while partial replacements are not adequately addressed for patients with compartmental osteoarthritis.
Innovation Solution
An osteotomy guide is designed to perform a high tibial osteotomy by guiding precise cuts in the tibia using a patient-specific, 3-D printed guide that includes ascending and transverse guide surfaces, allowing for realignment of the knee joint without extensive bone removal, followed by fixation with a bone plate.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If full joint replacement is performed, then the joint function is restored, but extensive bone removal is required and the implant has limited lifespan
Solution Approach 1:
The invention divides the joint replacement problem into two separate procedures: osteotomy to correct alignment and redistribute load, and partial meniscectomy to remove only the damaged cartilage portion. This segmentation allows preserving healthy bone and joint structures while addressing specific pathological areas, avoiding the need for extensive bone removal required in full joint replacement.
2Reliability
If full joint replacement is performed, then joint function is restored, but subsequent replacement surgeries are needed due to limited implant lifespan
Solution Approach 1:
The osteotomy procedure performs preliminary alignment correction and load redistribution before any potential future interventions. By optimizing the mechanical environment of the joint through realignment, the procedure creates conditions that may delay or prevent the need for implant replacement, effectively extending the functional duration of the native joint structures.
3Ease of operation
If conventional osteotomy guide is used, then cutting guidance is provided, but precise control of complex 3-D cutting paths is difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The invention uses a 3-D printed guide that is a precise digital copy of the patient's specific anatomical geometry. The guide incorporates patient-specific surface features and internal structures that exactly match the target bone anatomy, enabling accurate registration and precise control of complex 3-D cutting paths. This digital-physical copying approach achieves manufacturing precision that conventional generic guides cannot provide.
Solution Approach 2:
The guide incorporates multiple guide surfaces with different orientations and geometries that define specific cutting parameters (angles, depths, paths). By changing the geometric parameters of the guide surfaces to match the desired cutting trajectories, the system achieves precise control over complex 3-D cutting paths while maintaining ease of operation through a single integrated guide structure.
Data Source
AI summary
An osteotomy guide (100,500,600) guides cutting of a bone (300). The guide (100,500,600) has an anterior end (106,506,606) and a posterior end (108,508,608) that are spaced from one another along a transverse direction. The guide (100,500,600) has an inner surface (102,502,602) that faces the bone (300), and an outer surface (104,504,604) opposite the inner surface (102,502,602) along an outer direction (Do). The guide (100,500,600) includes a transverse guide surface (138,538,638) that extends along a transverse axis (AT) along the transverse direction so as to define a transverse cutting path into the bone (300). The guide (100,500,600) includes an ascending guide surface (134,534,634) that extends along an ascending axis (AA) along an ascending direction so as to define an ascending cutting path into the bone (300). The transverse and ascending axes (AT,AA) intersect one another.