Trough-Shaped Scoring Blade for Intramedullary Bone Cement Removal

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Solution Overview

Problem

Existing methods for removing bone cement in orthopedic surgery, such as using manual osteotomes, ultrasonic devices, and hooks, are slow, laborious, and inefficient, particularly in confined spaces like the intramedullary canal.

Innovation Solution

A blade design with a trough-shaped tip and body, featuring a swept-back configuration, sharp cutting edge, and a hub for power instrument attachment, which is used to repeatedly strike and cut bone cement.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Ease of manufacture

If manual osteotomes are used to remove bone cement, then the removal can be performed with simple equipment, but the process becomes very slow and laborious

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvesimplicity of equipmentVSAvoidspeed of bone cement removal

Core Design Contradiction:

Ease of manufactureVSProductivity

Solution Approach 1:

The patent employs ultrasonic vibration of the blade to remove bone cement. The blade vibrates at high frequency to fracture and remove the cement material, transforming the slow manual chiseling process into a faster vibration-assisted removal process while maintaining relative equipment simplicity.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #18Mechanical vibration

Solution Approach 2:

The patent replaces the purely manual mechanical system (hammer and osteotome) with a powered ultrasonic system. The ultrasonic generator provides vibrational energy to the blade, substituting human labor with automated mechanical vibration to increase removal speed.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #28Mechanics substitution (Replace mechanical system)

2Productivity

If ultrasonic devices are used to remove bone cement, then the cutting speed is improved, but the process becomes slow and messy producing noxious odors

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvecutting speedVSAvoidnoxious odors and mess

Core Design Contradiction:

ProductivityVSObject-generated harmful factors

Solution Approach 1:

The patent designs the blade with a specific trough-shaped cross-section and optimized geometry to control how the bone cement is fractured and removed. The local geometry of the blade tip and body is engineered to produce cleaner fragmentation patterns, reducing mess and odor generation while maintaining cutting speed.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #3Local quality

3Ease of manufacture

If hooks and scrapers are used to remove bone cement, then the equipment is simple, but none of these methods is fast or easy to use

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvesimplicity of equipmentVSAvoidease of use and speed

Core Design Contradiction:

Ease of manufactureVSEase of operation

Solution Approach 1:

The patent combines the simple blade design with ultrasonic vibration to achieve both ease of operation and speed. The powered ultrasonic system handles the difficult cutting action, making the operation easier for the surgeon while dramatically increasing the removal speed compared to manual hooks and scrapers.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #18Mechanical vibration

Data Source

PatentUS12508035B2Scoring blade and method for bone cement removal from intramedullary canal

Publication Date: 2025.12.30 HENRY SCHEIN INC

AI summary

An osteotome blade that is optimized for cutting and removal of bone cement such as from an intramedullary canal during revision surgery. The blade may have a body and a tip, wherein the body cross-section and tip are trough-shaped and the tip has a swept-back configuration. Further away from the cutting region, the blade may have a transition region and a hub suitable to be grasped in a power tool. There may also be provided a scoring blade, and a method may comprise scoring grooves into bone cement using the scoring blade, followed by removal of bone cement using the cement removal blade.