Periacetabular Osteotomy Cutting Guide for Precise Bone Cuts

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Solution Overview

Problem

Current periacetabular osteotomy procedures rely heavily on the surgeon's skill and experience, leading to risks of human error, inaccurate cuts, and prolonged operating times due to the lack of a precise cutting guide, which can result in soft tissue damage and suboptimal joint realignment.

Innovation Solution

A kit comprising a cutting guide with two main bodies and an aligner that define a univocal cutting path and ensure accurate bone cuts and realignment, using fastening members and anatomically shaped surfaces to stabilize the guide on the bone, reducing the risk of human error and improving surgical precision.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Ease of operation

If freehand cutting is performed by the surgeon following a preoperative line, then the surgeon has flexibility in operation, but the cutting precision is reduced and risk of soft tissue damage increases

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvesurgeon flexibilityVSAvoidcutting precision
Core Design Contradiction:
Ease of operationVSManufacturing precision

Solution Approach 1:

A cutting guide device is introduced as an intermediary tool between the surgeon and the bone. The guide includes a body with a longitudinal opening that defines the cutting path, and positioning arms with fastening members that attach to the bone surface. This intermediary device ensures precise cutting along the predetermined line while reducing soft tissue damage risk.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

Solution Approach 2:

The cutting guide is designed with positioning arms and fastening members that are attached to the bone before the cutting operation begins. The guide body is positioned and secured in advance, establishing the cutting path through the longitudinal opening before the actual cutting occurs. This preliminary positioning ensures cutting precision is maintained throughout the procedure.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #10Preliminary action

2Manufacturing precision

If a cutting guide is introduced to improve cutting precision, then cutting accuracy increases, but the device complexity and bulkiness increase

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvecutting precisionVSAvoidguide structure complexity
Core Design Contradiction:
Manufacturing precisionVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The cutting guide is segmented into distinct functional components: a guide body with the longitudinal opening for cutting, positioning arms for alignment, and fastening members for attachment. This segmentation allows each component to perform its specific function efficiently while keeping the overall device design manageable and not excessively bulky.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #1Segmentation

3Loss of information

If realignment is performed by rotation under image intensifier control, then the surgeon has visual feedback, but the risk of human error increases and operating time is prolonged

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvevisual feedbackVSAvoidrealignment accuracy
Core Design Contradiction:
Loss of informationVSReliability

Solution Approach 1:

The realignment process is enhanced by replacing reliance solely on visual feedback from image intensifiers with a mechanical alignment system. The guide body includes a longitudinal groove that receives an alignment tool, providing mechanical guidance and constraints for proper acetabular fragment positioning. This mechanical system reduces human error by providing physical alignment references rather than relying only on visual assessment.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #28Mechanics substitution (Replace mechanical system)

4Reliability

If experienced surgeons perform the procedure to minimize human error, then clinical results improve, but the dependency on surgeon skill increases and training requirements are higher

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveclinical outcome qualityVSAvoidsurgeon skill dependency
Core Design Contradiction:
ReliabilityVSAdaptability or versatility

Solution Approach 1:

The cutting guide device is designed to be self-aligning and self-guiding through its anatomical positioning features. The positioning arms are configured to align with specific anatomical landmarks on the ilium, and the fastening members secure the guide in a predetermined position. This self-service capability reduces dependency on surgeon skill and experience, allowing less experienced surgeons to achieve consistent, reliable results by following the device's built-in guidance system.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #25Self-service

Data Source

PatentEP3727167B1Cutting guide for periacetabular osteotomy and kit for periacetabular osteotomy
Publication Date: 2025.09.24 MEDACTA INT SA
  • EP3727167B1 patent drawingFigure 1
  • EP3727167B1 patent drawingFigure 2
  • EP3727167B1 patent drawingFigure 3

AI summary

A cutting guide for periacetabular osteotomy comprises at least one first main body (2) having a longitudinal opening (3) for the insertion of a cutting instrument (30), extending from a first end (2a) to a second end (2b) of the first main body (2) and at least two positioning and fixing arms (4a, 4b) extending away from the first main body (2) from opposite sides with respect to the longitudinal opening (3), in order to correctly position the first main body (2) on a bone and fix it thereto through respective fastening members (7).