Patient-Specific Surgical Guide Segmentation for Accuracy
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Solution Overview
Problem
State-of-the-art patient-specific surgical guides often suffer from instability and inaccuracy in positioning, which contradicts the goal of minimally invasive surgery, as they require larger contact surfaces for stability and precision, leading to potential errors in surgical tool placement.
Innovation Solution
A patient-specific surgical guide with at least one guiding element and two patient-specific contact elements, including a support element for a percutaneous pin or needle, and an elongated junction member to improve accuracy and stability while minimizing invasiveness, allowing for precise positioning and orientation of surgical instruments.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If the contact surface of the surgical guide is increased to improve stability and positioning accuracy, then the positioning precision is improved, but the invasiveness of the surgery increases
Solution Approach 1:
The surgical guide is divided into multiple separate contact elements (first contact element with first contact surface, and second contact element with second contact surface) that can be positioned at different locations on the bone. This segmentation allows each contact element to be smaller and less invasive, while collectively providing stable and accurate positioning through multiple distributed contact points.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention extends the positioning from a single contact surface to multiple contact surfaces distributed in three-dimensional space. By adding the second contact element at a different location and orientation, the system achieves stable positioning through spatial distribution rather than relying on a single large contact area, thereby reducing invasiveness while maintaining accuracy.
2Stability of the object's composition
If the surgical guide is made more invasive to achieve better stability, then the stability is improved, but the minimally invasive goal is compromised
Solution Approach 1:
The guide is segmented into multiple contact elements that can be independently positioned and secured to the bone. This segmentation provides stability through multiple distributed attachment points rather than requiring a single large invasive structure, enabling minimal access while achieving robust positioning.
Solution Approach 2:
Each contact element is designed with local patient-specific geometry tailored to fit specific regions of the patient's anatomy. This local customization allows each small contact element to achieve optimal stability at its specific location, while the overall guide remains minimally invasive due to the small size of individual elements.
Data Source
AI summary
A patient-specific surgical guide including at least one guiding element for guiding a surgical instrument to treat a subcutaneous anatomical structure of the patient. A first patient-specific contact element with a first patient-specific contact surface to fit a portion of the subcutaneous anatomical structure is rigidly connected to the at least one guiding element. The patient-specific surgical guide includes at least one second patient-specific contact element having at least one support element for supporting a percutaneous pin or needle whose tip is intended to contact a point of the subcutaneous anatomical structure or an anatomical structure rigidly connected thereto. An elongated junction member rigidly couples the at least one guiding element to the at least one second contact element.