Prosthesis Connection Device with Nested Guide Mechanism
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing connecting devices for prostheses, particularly in knee joint surgeries, are complex to handle and prone to unintentional detachment, lacking reliability and ease of use during operations.
Innovation Solution
A connecting device with a first element featuring inner walls as a guide and a second element that is partially surrounded by the first, allowing displacement to create a groove for secure attachment and release of the second prosthesis part, enabling stable guidance and defined positioning without screws or threads.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If screw connections are used to connect trial prostheses, then the fixation is achieved, but the operation becomes complex and difficult to perform one-handedly
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces the screw-thread mechanical system with a direct push-fit connection system. The second connecting element is inserted directly into the first connecting element without requiring threading or screwing actions, eliminating the complexity of screw connections while maintaining secure fixation through the interference fit between the two elements.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent extracts the threading mechanism from the connection system, leaving only the essential insertion and fixation functions. By removing the screw thread component, the connection can be performed with a simple pushing motion that is easily executable one-handedly during surgery.
2Ease of operation
If trial prostheses are connected with conventional methods, then connection is achieved, but unintentional loosening and instability occur
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs a nested structure where the second connecting element is inserted into and contained by the first connecting element. This nested arrangement provides inherent stability and prevents unintentional loosening, as the inner element is securely held within the outer element throughout the surgical procedure.
3Ease of operation
If the connecting device allows free movement, then ease of positioning is achieved, but defined guidance and precise positioning are lost
Solution Approach 1:
The connecting device transitions from a static rigid connection to a dynamic system that allows controlled movement during insertion, then locks into a precise fixed position. The inner connecting element can be freely positioned during insertion but becomes precisely guided and secured once inserted, providing both flexibility and precision.
Data Source
Figure 1(a)~1(e)
Figure 2
AI summary
The invention relates to a connection device for connecting a first and a second prosthesis part, in particular of a tibial and a femoral trial prosthesis for trial arrangement on the corresponding bones, wherein the connection device has a first connection element and a second connection element. The first connection element has inner walls, serving as a guide, and a mating piece and serves for arrangement on the first prosthesis part, and the second connection element is enclosed at least in part by the inner walls of the connection element and is movable in a displacement direction along the inner walls relative to the first connection element and has a groove for receiving a portion of the second prosthesis part. The second connection element is movable, in the direction of displacement relative to the first connection element, to an open position in which the second connection element is at least in part pushed out of the first connection element and the groove of the second connection element is at least in part exposed such that the portion of the second prosthesis part can be inserted into and guided out of the groove, and to a closed position in which the second connection element is at least in part pushed into the first connection element and the mating piece of the first connection element lies opposite the groove of the second connection element, in such a way that the portion of the second prosthesis part received in the groove is prevented, by the mating piece of the first connection element, from withdrawal from the groove.