Stabilized Drill Guide With Movable Shaft Joint
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current drill guides in orthopedic surgery, such as those used in glenoid arthroplasty, often fail to ensure precise implantation of orthopedic devices due to improper positioning, orientation, or depth, leading to potential loosening and failure of the implants, which increases healthcare costs and requires revision surgeries.
Innovation Solution
A drill guide with a movable shaft and handle coupled by a joint, allowing for adjustable positioning and stabilization using a biasing element and locking mechanism, along with anatomical reference features, to ensure accurate hole placement and implant alignment within the bone socket.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If a rigid drill guide is used, then structural stability is maintained, but positioning accuracy deteriorates due to inability to adapt to anatomical variations
Solution Approach 1:
The drill guide incorporates a movable shaft coupled to the handle by a joint, allowing the shaft to move relative to the handle. This dynamic structure enables the drill guide to adapt to anatomical variations and achieve precise positioning while maintaining structural stability through the joint mechanism.
2Reliability
If the drill guide structure is simplified, then ease of manufacture is improved, but positioning stability deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The drill guide is divided into distinct segments: a handle, a shaft, and a working portion, connected by a joint. This segmentation allows each component to be manufactured separately with standard processes, then assembled, maintaining positioning stability through the joint while simplifying overall manufacturing.
3Adaptability or versatility
If a fixed shaft configuration is used, then device simplicity is maintained, but adaptability to different anatomical positions deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The shaft is configured to move relative to the handle through a joint mechanism, enabling the drill guide to adapt to different anatomical positions and orientations. This dynamic configuration provides positioning adaptability while controlling mechanism complexity through a single degree of freedom joint.
Data Source
AI summary
A drill guide includes a working portion and a shaft, with a joint formed between the working portion and the shaft so that the shaft is movable relative to the working portion about the joint. The working portion includes at least one drill guide hole which receives a drill for making a hole in a bone. The joint isolates the working portion from unintentional movements of the shaft so that the working portion remains stable against a bone surface. The joint also enables the shaft to be used as a retractor or pry bar against surrounding anatomical structures if desired. The drill guide may be included in a system with an implant component and/or other surgical instruments.