PCL Drill Guide with Blocking Surface and Viewing Aperture
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
During PCL replacement surgery, there is a risk of damaging delicate tissues such as the popliteal artery and femoral nerve when drilling tibial and femoral tunnels, as existing drill guides do not adequately ensure precise control and visualization of the drill exit point.
Innovation Solution
A drill guide system comprising an arc-shaped member, an elongate guide member with a bore hole, and an alignment arm with a concave blocking surface and viewing aperture, along with a stopper member, which allows for controlled advancement and visualization of the guide pin to prevent tissue damage.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Manufacturing precision
If the guide pin is allowed to advance freely through the tibia to ensure accurate tunnel positioning, then the manufacturing precision of the tibial tunnel is improved, but the risk of damaging delicate tissues such as the popliteal artery and femoral nerve increases
Solution Approach 1:
A stopper member is introduced as an intermediary element between the guide pin and the delicate tissues. The stopper member includes a blocking surface that physically prevents the guide pin from advancing beyond a safe distance, thereby mediating between the need for accurate tunnel positioning and the need to protect vulnerable tissues from damage
Solution Approach 2:
The blocking surface on the stopper member applies preliminary anti-action by pre-establishing a physical barrier before the guide pin can reach the dangerous zone. This prevents the harmful action (tissue damage) from occurring in the first place, while still allowing the guide pin to advance sufficiently for accurate tunnel positioning
2Measurement precision
If the surgeon needs to view the exit location of the guide pin to ensure accurate positioning, then the measurement precision is improved, but the device complexity increases due to additional viewing components
Solution Approach 1:
The stopper member includes a translucent or transparent portion that allows visual observation of the guide pin's position and the exit location through the blocking surface. This optical property enables measurement precision without adding complex mechanical viewing components, as the material itself becomes the viewing window
Solution Approach 2:
The blocking surface is designed with a curved or contoured shape that provides multiple viewing angles and dimensions. This allows the surgeon to observe the guide pin exit location from different perspectives without adding separate viewing ports or complex positioning mechanisms
Data Source
AI summary
Disclosed are femoral and tibial drill guides for use in posterior cruciate ligament replacement surgery. Each of the drill guides includes an arc shaped member and an elongate guide member, a stopper member, and an alignment arm member coupled thereto. Prior to preparing a tibial tunnel with a tibial drill guide and a femoral tunnel with a femoral drill guide, a rasp and/or cutter can be used to remove any remnants of the posterior cruciate ligament left prior to replacement thereof. The tibial drill guide includes a concave blocking surface and a viewing aperture on the alignment arm member to block the advancement and view the location of a guide pin exiting from a posterior portion of a tibia, respectively.