Patient-Specific Spinal Osteotomy Cutting Guide
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current spinal osteotomy techniques lack precision and safety due to the absence of navigation systems for guiding cutting blades, leading to potential damage to the medullary canal and incomplete severance of vertebrae during spinal straightening procedures.
Innovation Solution
A patient-specific cutting guide with inclined arms and shaped slots to define precise cutting planes and depth, ensuring accurate incision and minimizing risk to the medullary canal, featuring a triangular configuration for stable positioning and a gripping element for secure placement during surgery.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If free hand cutting is used without navigation systems, then the surgical operation can be performed with simple tools, but the precision of cutting planes and depth control is insufficient
Solution Approach 1:
The cutting guide is designed and manufactured before surgery based on pre-operative imaging (CT/X-ray). The guide incorporates patient-specific anatomical data to pre-determine the optimal cutting planes, angles, and depths. This preliminary preparation enables precise intraoperative cutting without requiring complex real-time navigation systems during the actual surgery.
Solution Approach 2:
The cutting guide acts as an intermediary tool between the surgeon and the cutting blade. It provides physical guidance through shaped slots and reference surfaces that directly control the blade's path, angle, and depth. This mechanical intermediary ensures cutting precision without requiring complex electronic navigation systems.
2Reliability
If free hand cutting is used to reach near the medullary canal, then the vertebral bone structure can be severed, but there is a high risk of damaging the medullary canal
Solution Approach 1:
The invention replaces manual depth estimation with a mechanical depth-limiting system. The cutting guide incorporates depth reference surfaces and slot terminations that physically prevent the cutting blade from exceeding the safe depth. This mechanical constraint eliminates the need for complex depth measurement systems while ensuring consistent safe-depth cutting.
Solution Approach 2:
The cutting guide is designed with pre-calculated depth margins based on the patient's specific anatomy and the location of the medullary canal. The guide's geometry incorporates a safety buffer zone that prevents the blade from reaching critical structures, providing beforehand protection against accidental damage.
3Productivity
If multiple vertebrae are operated on to create space for straightening, then spinal deformity can be corrected, but the complexity of the surgical procedure increases
Solution Approach 1:
The cutting guide design incorporates universal features that can be applied across multiple vertebrae. The guide's reference surfaces and slot configurations can be adapted to different vertebral levels while maintaining consistent cutting geometry. This multi-functionality allows the same basic guide design to be used for osteotomies at multiple levels, reducing the need for completely different tools for each vertebra.
Data Source
AI summary
A cutting guide for spinal osteotomy comprises a main body having a first and a second arm, each provided with a respective through slot. The first and second arm are preferably inclined with respect to each other to substantially form a V shape. The guide also comprises a distal surface and a proximal surface shaped according to the anatomy of the specific patient and a height of each arm is also shaped according to the anatomy of the specific patient.