Customized Surgical Guides for Bone Implant Fixation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current surgical guides for reconstructive bone and joint surgery lack accuracy and stability, often resulting in suboptimal screw placement and increased risk of complications such as soft tissue damage, infection, and prosthetic loosening, especially in complex revision cases where limited bone exposure and anatomical access are challenges.
Innovation Solution
Customized surgical guides that fit directly onto patient-specific bone implants, utilizing unique surface structures and guiding elements for precise alignment and locking features to ensure accurate placement and fixation, manufactured through additive manufacturing techniques based on pre-operative planning.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If free-hand screw placement is used by the surgeon, then the surgical procedure is simple and quick, but the accuracy and precision of screw trajectory are poor leading to suboptimal screw placement
Solution Approach 1:
A customized surgical guide acts as an intermediary device between the surgeon and the bone-implant system. The guide incorporates patient-specific anatomical surface structures that mate with the implant, providing a stable reference frame. Guiding elements within the guide precisely define screw trajectories, eliminating the need for free-hand placement while maintaining procedural simplicity through the guide's integrated design.
Solution Approach 2:
The surgical guide is designed and manufactured before surgery based on pre-operative imaging and planning. The guide incorporates pre-determined screw trajectories and anatomical surface structures that are specific to the patient's geometry. This preliminary preparation ensures high accuracy during surgery without requiring complex intraoperative adjustments or procedures.
2Reliability
If standard surgical guides are used, then the device is simple to manufacture, but the guide lacks stability and accuracy in complex anatomical regions with limited access
Solution Approach 1:
The surgical guide incorporates patient-specific anatomical surface structures that are locally adapted to the specific implant and surgical site. These surface structures are customized based on the patient's unique anatomy and the specific implant geometry, providing optimal stability and accuracy for that particular application. The guiding elements are also locally positioned to match the pre-determined screw trajectories for that specific case.
Solution Approach 2:
The guide manufacturing process utilizes additive manufacturing technology, which allows for complex geometries and patient-specific parameters to be directly fabricated from digital models. This manufacturing method can accommodate varying degrees of complexity without significantly increasing manufacturing difficulty, as the complex surface structures and guiding elements are built layer-by-layer based on patient-specific data.
3Strength
If multiple screws are placed to ensure implant fixation, then the implant stability is improved, but the risk of screw intersection and soft tissue damage increases
Solution Approach 1:
The surgical guide serves as an intermediary that precisely controls screw trajectories before screws are inserted. The guiding elements define exact paths for each screw, ensuring optimal spacing and orientation. This pre-planned guidance prevents screw intersection and allows the surgeon to place multiple screws safely without increasing the risk of soft tissue damage, as the guide protects against deviant trajectories.
4Reliability
If revision surgery is performed on failed prostheses, then the patient's condition is addressed, but the complexity and risk of complications increase due to limited bone stock and anatomical access
Solution Approach 1:
For revision surgeries, the surgical guide is designed and manufactured before surgery based on pre-operative imaging of the patient's current anatomy and the existing implant. The guide incorporates patient-specific surface structures that mate with the implant, providing a stable reference frame even in complex revision cases. This preliminary preparation simplifies the surgical procedure by pre-defining safe screw trajectories that account for limited bone stock and anatomical constraints.
Solution Approach 2:
The guide provides localized precision at the specific surgical site by incorporating patient-specific anatomical surface structures from the revision surgery context. The guiding elements are positioned to match the pre-determined screw trajectories that are optimized for the patient's current anatomy and implant configuration, ensuring high reliability without requiring the surgeon to navigate complex anatomy free-hand.
Data Source
AI summary
The invention relates to surgical guides which are of use during reconstructive bone surgery for guiding a surgical instrument or tool. More particularly, the guides are characterized in that they are fitted to the implant rather than to the bone.