Patient-Specific Osteotomy Guide for Foot Bone Alignment
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current surgical techniques face challenges in accurately locating, positioning, and orienting osteotomy cuts and fixation guides during orthopedic procedures, especially in complex anatomical areas like the foot, due to the small size and unique configurations of bones in these regions.
Innovation Solution
A patient-specific resection guide is developed, featuring a bone engagement feature determined by a model of the patient's foot from medical imaging. This guide includes a resection feature for guiding cutting tools to form precise osteotomies and attachment features for securing the guide to bones, enhancing visibility and alignment during surgical procedures.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If conventional surgical techniques are used, then surgical procedures can be performed, but accuracy in locating and positioning osteotomy cuts is insufficient
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies preliminary action by creating patient-specific 3D printed guides and models before surgery. These guides are fabricated based on pre-operative imaging data (CT or MRI scans) to precisely map the patient's unique anatomy. The guides include pre-determined osteotomy cut locations, angles, and depths, allowing the surgeon to transfer the virtual surgical plan directly to the physical anatomy with high precision, thereby improving both measurement precision and reliability.
2Manufacturing precision
If conventional generic surgical instruments are used, then surgical procedures can be performed, but precision in small anatomical areas like foot bones is insufficient
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality by designing custom-fit surgical guides that are specific to each patient's local anatomy. The 3D printed guides are tailored to match the unique surface configurations and landmarks of individual foot bones, providing localized precision for each surgical site. This customization ensures that the instrumentation fits perfectly to the patient's specific anatomical variations, enabling precise resection of small bones while maintaining ease of operation through the custom-fit design.
3Reliability
If more bone is removed to ensure successful joint fusion, then fusion success may improve, but unnecessary bone loss occurs
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies mechanics substitution by replacing traditional mechanical measurement and estimation methods with digital imaging and 3D printing technology. Pre-operative CT or MRI scans create a virtual model of the patient's anatomy, allowing precise planning of osteotomy cuts to achieve optimal joint fusion alignment. The 3D printed guides then transfer this digitally optimized plan to surgery, ensuring that only the minimum necessary bone is removed to achieve successful fusion, eliminating unnecessary bone loss while maintaining high fusion success rates.
Data Source
AI summary
An apparatus, system, and method are disclosed for remediating a condition present in a patient's foot. In some implementations, a resection guide includes a bone engagement feature configured to engage at least a portion of at least one foot bone to position the resection guide. The bone engagement feature may be least partially determined based on a model of the patient's foot, which is defined based on medical imaging of the patient's foot. The resection guide further includes a resection feature that extends through the resection guide from a superior side of the resection guide to an inferior side. The resection feature is configured to guide a cutting tool to form a first osteotomy in a first bone along a first trajectory. Additionally, the resection guide includes a first bone attachment feature configured to engage the first bone and a second bone attachment feature configured to engage a second bone.