Retractable-Shield Resection Guide for Precise Femoral Neck Cutting

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Solution Overview

Problem

Femoral neck resection during total hip arthroplasty is challenging due to difficulties in precisely positioning and maintaining the cutting guide, which can lead to soft tissue damage and prolonged recovery times.

Innovation Solution

A cutting guide with a retractable shield and robotic surgical arm system that ensures precise alignment and protects soft tissues by limiting the translation of the cutting instrument, using a retractable shield to secure the cutting guide to the femoral neck and prevent damage.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Manufacturing precision

If a cutting guide is used to guide the cutting instrument along a preoperatively determined trajectory, then the precision of femoral neck resection is improved, but the difficulty of positioning and maintaining the cutting guide increases

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveprecision of femoral neck resectionVSAvoiddifficulty of positioning and maintaining cutting guide

Core Design Contradiction:

Manufacturing precisionVSEase of operation

Solution Approach 1:

A retractable shield is introduced as an intermediary component between the cutting guide and the soft tissues. The shield can be deployed to protect soft tissues during cutting and retracted when not needed, thereby facilitating easier and safer operation of the cutting guide without compromising positioning precision

Inventive Principle:

Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

Solution Approach 2:

The shield is designed to be dynamically movable between a retracted position (clearing the trajectory) and a deployed position (protecting soft tissues). This dynamic capability allows the system to adapt during the surgical procedure, making the cutting guide easier to operate while maintaining precision

Inventive Principle:

Principle #15Dynamics

2Productivity

If the cutting instrument is translated along the cutting guide to resect the femoral neck, then the productivity of the procedure is improved, but the risk of soft tissue damage increases

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvespeed of femoral neck resectionVSAvoidsoft tissue damage

Core Design Contradiction:

ProductivityVSObject-affected harmful factors

Solution Approach 1:

The retractable shield serves as a protective intermediary that the cutting instrument must pass through or around. When deployed, the shield blocks the cutting instrument from contacting soft tissues, allowing high-speed cutting along the guide trajectory without damaging surrounding soft tissues

Inventive Principle:

Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

Solution Approach 2:

The shield can be extracted (retracted) from the trajectory when protection is not needed, allowing uninterrupted cutting motion. When protection is needed, the shield is inserted into the path to block soft tissue contact, thus extracting the protective function only when required

Inventive Principle:

Principle #2Taking out (Extraction)

3Reliability

If a retractable shield is deployed to protect soft tissues, then the safety of the procedure is improved, but the complexity of the cutting guide system increases

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveprotection of soft tissuesVSAvoidcomplexity of cutting guide system

Core Design Contradiction:

ReliabilityVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The cutting guide system is segmented into distinct functional components: the cutting guide body, the retractable shield, and the coupling mechanism. This segmentation allows each component to perform its specific function independently, making the overall system more reliable while keeping the added complexity manageable through modular design

Inventive Principle:

Principle #1Segmentation

Data Source

PatentUS20260013882A1Protective resection guide for robotically assisted arthroplasty

Publication Date: 2026.01.15 ZIMMER INC

AI summary

A cutting guide for a robotic surgical system can include a cutting block defining a guide surface to guide a cutting instrument along a trajectory, an arm connected to the cutting block to couple the cutting guide to the robotic surgical system, and a first retractable shield configured to extend from a first retracted position clear of the trajectory to a second deployed position within the trajectory.