Size-Segmented Orthopaedic Instrument Trays for Knee Replacement
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing orthopaedic surgical instrument systems for knee replacement procedures are inefficient in terms of sterilization and storage, as they often require multiple trays for different-sized components, leading to increased operating room clutter and unnecessary instrument handling.
Innovation Solution
A surgical instrument system with multiple sterilization trays, each containing either commonly-sized or differently-sized components, allowing for streamlined sterilization and storage, and enabling intraoperative selection of the best-fit components based on preoperative determination.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If multiple sterilization trays are used to store different-sized components separately, then sterilization efficiency is improved and unused instruments are minimized, but device complexity increases due to multiple trays and retainers
Solution Approach 1:
The instrument system is divided into multiple sterilization trays, with each tray containing specific size components (e.g., first tray for size 1-5 components, second tray for size 6-10 components). This segmentation allows for streamlined sterilization processing of smaller component groups and prevents mixing of different sizes, thereby improving sterilization efficiency while maintaining organized storage.
Solution Approach 2:
Each sterilization tray is designed with multiple instrument retainers that can accommodate different instrument types (femoral trial components, tibial bearing trial components, tibial tray trial components, etc.). The retainers are configured to be universally applicable across various instrument sizes within each tray's designated range, allowing a single tray design to serve multiple functions.
2Adaptability or versatility
If all instrument sizes are included in every sterilization tray, then adaptability is improved and all components are available, but operating room clutter increases and unnecessary instruments must be handled
Solution Approach 1:
The complete set of instruments across all sizes is segmented into multiple sterilization trays based on size ranges. Each tray contains only the instruments necessary for specific size ranges (e.g., smaller sizes in the first tray, larger sizes in the second tray). This segmentation ensures that when a surgeon selects a tray for a specific patient procedure, only the relevant size components are present, reducing operating room clutter while maintaining adaptability through the availability of multiple specialized trays.
Solution Approach 2:
The instruments are pre-sorted into different sterilization trays according to their size specifications before the surgical procedure. This preliminary organization allows the surgical team to select the appropriate tray based on preoperative planning, ensuring that only the necessary size range components are brought into the operating room, thereby minimizing clutter and unnecessary instrument handling.
3Reliability
If reusable instruments are kitted, sterilized, and returned for subsequent procedures, then instrument reliability is improved through proper sterilization, but loss of time occurs during the kitting and sterilization process
Solution Approach 1:
The instrument set is segmented into multiple sterilization trays containing smaller groups of instruments by size range. This segmentation reduces the total number of instruments in each sterilization batch, thereby reducing the sterilization cycle time for each tray while maintaining proper sterilization quality. Multiple smaller sterilization cycles can be processed more efficiently than one large cycle containing all instruments.
Solution Approach 2:
Instruments are pre-assembled into size-specific sterilization trays with all necessary components for each size range already organized and grouped together. This preliminary kitting action ensures that when sterilization is performed, each tray contains only the instruments needed for specific procedures, enabling faster sterilization processing and reducing the time instruments remain out of service compared to processing all instruments together.
Data Source
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AI summary
A surgical instrument system (10) includes a commonly-sized orthopaedic surgical instrument assembly for use in implanting a femoral component, along with a number of orthopaedic surgical instrument assemblies having varying sizes of instruments of use in implanting a tibial tray component and a patella component.