Sizing Guide System for Minimally Invasive Bone Defect Repair
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current surgical methods for repairing focal defects in articular cartilage in the knee joint are not minimally invasive enough, leading to potential complications and reduced effectiveness.
Innovation Solution
A method involving the use of sizing guides, guide wires, and cutting members to form precise pockets in the femur and tibia for receiving implants, allowing for minimally invasive repair of cartilage and bone defects, with the ability to guide instruments to create bores and pockets for implant placement.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If traditional surgical procedures (microfracture, OATS, mosaicplasty, or unicondylar/partial knee replacement) are used to repair damaged articular cartilage, then the repair effectiveness is improved, but the invasiveness of the procedure increases and tissue damage worsens
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality by providing a customized implant that precisely matches the specific geometry and characteristics of the patient's cartilage defect. The implant is tailored to the local area of damage rather than requiring broad surgical intervention, allowing repair of the specific defective region while preserving surrounding healthy tissue.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent extracts only the necessary portion of bone tissue to create the defect site and implant pocket, removing minimal tissue while achieving the repair goal. This selective extraction approach avoids the more extensive tissue removal required by traditional procedures like mosaicplasty or partial knee replacement.
2Reliability
If traditional surgical procedures are used to repair articular cartilage defects, then the repair coverage is improved, but the surgical complexity and procedure time increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies preliminary action by creating a precise template or guide from the patient's existing anatomy before implantation. This pre-planning step defines the exact location, size, and orientation of the implant, simplifying the actual surgical procedure and reducing intraoperative complexity while ensuring complete coverage of the defect area.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent uses copying by creating a physical or digital replica of the defect area to design and fabricate a custom implant that perfectly matches the defect geometry. This copying approach ensures complete repair coverage while simplifying the surgical process, as the implant is designed offline rather than requiring complex intraoperative shaping.
3Object-affected harmful factors
If minimally invasive techniques are used to repair articular cartilage, then tissue damage is reduced, but the precision of implant placement deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces an intermediary element—a custom template, guide, or positioning device—that bridges the minimally invasive approach with precise implant placement. This intermediary tool is inserted through small incisions to establish accurate anatomical landmarks and guide implant positioning, achieving high precision without requiring large surgical exposures.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent applies dimensionality change by using imaging and planning in three dimensions to compensate for the limited access in minimally invasive surgery. Digital models and preoperative planning provide precise spatial information that guides implant placement through small incisions, achieving accuracy that would otherwise require extensive surgical exposure.
Data Source
AI summary
A method for repairing a soft tissue or bone defect can include selecting one of a plurality of sizing guides having a base perimeter size corresponding to a size of the defect, where each base has a different perimeter size and a plurality of apertures spaced apart a predetermined distance from each other, with the predetermined distance being the same for each of the sizing guides. The selected sizing guide base can be positioned against a distal end of the femur relative to the defect. A plurality of guide wires can be positioned through the plurality of apertures in the sizing guide base and the guide wires can be fixed to the femur such that the guide wires are parallel to each other. A first guide can be positioned over the guide wires and against the distal end of the femur to guide a first cutting member relative to the femur.