Separable Guide Instrument for Orthopedic Bone Fixation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing surgical guide instruments for orthopedic procedures face challenges in accurately aligning bone anchors with bone fixation apertures, particularly in ensuring proper threading and preventing cross-threading during the attachment of bone plates to underlying bones.
Innovation Solution
A separable surgical guide instrument with a guide body that can move between closed and open positions, allowing for concurrent insertion into bone fixation apertures and subsequent expansion to accommodate bone anchors, ensuring accurate alignment and threading with the bone plate while preventing interference with the anchor head.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If the guide instrument distal end is designed to be rigid for precise alignment, then alignment precision is improved, but the instrument cannot expand to accommodate bone anchor heads of varying sizes
Solution Approach 1:
The distal end of the guide instrument is segmented into multiple movable portions (first distal end portion and second distal end portion) that can move relative to each other. This segmentation allows the distal end to expand or contract, enabling it to accommodate bone anchor heads of different sizes while maintaining precise alignment when in the closed position.
Solution Approach 2:
The distal end transitions from a static rigid structure to a dynamic structure with movable portions that can change configuration. The movable portions allow the distal end to adapt its shape and size, providing both precision when closed and versatility when expanded to accommodate various anchor heads.
2Adaptability or versatility
If the distal end is designed to accommodate large bone anchor heads, then adaptability is improved, but alignment precision and threading accuracy deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
By dividing the distal end into movable segments, the instrument can achieve both large accommodation capacity and precision. When the segments are positioned in the closed configuration, they provide precise alignment and threading accuracy; when opened, they accommodate larger anchor heads.
Solution Approach 2:
The dynamic configuration of the distal end allows it to switch between a precise, compact state for threading and a expanded state for accommodation. This dynamic behavior resolves the contradiction by providing both high precision and high adaptability at different stages of the surgical procedure.
3Device complexity
If the guide instrument is designed as a single integrated structure, then structural simplicity is improved, but the ability to separate the guide from the anchor head path is lost
Solution Approach 1:
The guide instrument is segmented into a guide body and a movable distal end portion. This segmentation allows the guide to be separated from the anchor head path when needed, while maintaining relative structural simplicity through the use of a straightforward movable connection mechanism.
Data Source
Figure 1A~1B
Figure 2A~2B
Figure 2C
AI summary
A separable surgical guide instrument is configured to be inserted minimally invasively into a patient's soft tissue, and includes a guide body and a guide aperture that extends through the guide body. The guide body has a distal end that includes a first distal end portion and a second distal end portion that are arranged such that at least one of the first and second distal end portions is movable with respect to the other of the first and second distal end portions between 1) a closed position whereby the first and second distal end portions are concurrently insertable into a bone fixation aperture of a bone plate, and 2) an open position whereby the first distal end portion is spaced from the second distal end portion a sufficient distance such that the first and second distal end portions are not concurrently insertable into the bone fixation aperture.