Robotic Cut Guide with Integrated Position Tracker
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current orthopedic surgery techniques for joint replacement, such as total hip and knee replacements, face challenges in accurately positioning and orienting implants due to cumbersome manual alignment of cutting blocks and the invasive use of fixation pins, which increase setup time, complexity, and risk of infection and fracture.
Innovation Solution
A system comprising an ankle clamp, alignment guide, cut guide, and position tracker that allows the cut guide to be affixed to the patient's bone using bone pins, with the position tracker mounted directly to the cut guide, eliminating the need for pins on the tibia and reducing the invasiveness of the procedure.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If fixation pins are used to attach trackers to bones, then tracking accuracy is improved, but surgical invasiveness and risk of infection/fracture increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a tracker adapter as an intermediary component that attaches to the bone via pins while providing a non-invasive attachment interface for the tracker. This mediator allows the tracker to be secured accurately without requiring direct pin insertion into the bone for the tracker itself, thereby maintaining tracking accuracy while reducing surgical invasiveness.
2Ease of operation
If manual alignment of cutting blocks is used, then setup simplicity is improved, but alignment accuracy and time consumption worsen
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces manual mechanical alignment of cutting blocks with a robotic system that uses tracked bone positions and pre-planned trajectories to automatically position cutting tools. This substitution of mechanical manual alignment with automated robotic positioning significantly improves alignment accuracy while the pre-planning component maintains setup simplicity.
3Adaptability or versatility
If complex adjustment mechanisms are used for cutting blocks, then positioning flexibility is improved, but device complexity and cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs dynamically adjustable cutting guides that can be positioned and oriented flexibly during surgery through robotic manipulation, replacing complex mechanical adjustment mechanisms with programmable robotic motion control. This allows positioning flexibility to be achieved through software control rather than complex mechanical linkages, reducing device complexity.
Data Source
AI summary
A cut guide assembly (600) and a system for mounting assembly on a patient are described. The system includes an ankle clamp (525), an alignment guide (530) configured to be removably attached to the ankle clamp, and the cut guide assembly. The cut guide assembly includes a cut guide (535) and a position tracker (200). The cut guide includes a receiving feature (605) configured to removably attach to at least a portion of the alignment guide, a locking mechanism (610) configured to lock the receiving feature to the at least a portion of the alignment guide, and a plurality of pin receptacles (620), each of the plurality of pin receptacles configured to receive a bone pin (540) configured to affix the cut guide to a patient's bone. The position tracker configured to be affixed to the cut guide when the cut guide is affixed to the patient's bone.