Surgical Guide Tool Positioning Mark for Implant Alignment
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current surgical tools for repairing damaged cartilage in joints lack precision and user-friendliness, leading to potential misplacement of implants, increased wear on joints, and prolonged recovery times due to the complexity of precise positioning during surgery.
Innovation Solution
A design method for a guide tool with positioning marks aligned with the joint axis, allowing for precise placement and orientation of implants, which includes generating digital design parameters for the guide tool and implant based on cartilage damage data, and using computer-processed data for automated manufacturing.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Manufacturing precision
If traditional surgical tools are used for cartilage repair, then the surgical procedure can be performed, but implant placement precision is insufficient leading to misplacement and increased joint wear
Solution Approach 1:
The guide tool is designed and manufactured before surgery with pre-determined positioning marks and alignment features. The digital design phase allows virtual planning of implant placement, and the physical guide tool incorporates these pre-calculated positions, enabling precise implant placement without requiring complex intraoperative adjustments by the surgeon.
Solution Approach 2:
The guide tool acts as an intermediary device between the surgeon's intent and the actual implant placement. It includes positioning marks, alignment features, and guide channels that mediate the transfer of positioning information from digital planning to physical implantation, ensuring accurate placement while reducing the need for surgeon skill and experience.
2Volume of moving object
If smaller implants are used to minimize joint influence, then the implant size is reduced, but positioning precision becomes more critical and difficult to achieve
Solution Approach 1:
The guide tool is segmented into multiple functional components: a positioning body with positioning marks for location, a guide channel for orientation, and alignment features for rotational positioning. This segmentation allows each component to address specific positioning challenges independently, enabling precise placement of small implants through multiple controlled degrees of freedom.
Solution Approach 2:
The guide tool incorporates positioning marks and alignment features that extend into multiple spatial dimensions. The positioning marks provide location information in the horizontal plane, while the guide channel provides vertical orientation control. This multi-dimensional approach ensures precise positioning of small implants by controlling placement in all relevant spatial dimensions simultaneously.
3Manufacturing precision
If more complex guide tools are designed to improve positioning accuracy, then implant placement precision increases, but device complexity and surgical time increase
Solution Approach 1:
Multiple positioning and guidance functions are merged into a single integrated guide tool structure. The positioning body, guide channel, and alignment features are combined in one device that can be placed on the joint surface and simultaneously provide location, orientation, and rotational control. This merging reduces the number of separate tools needed and simplifies the surgical workflow while maintaining high precision.
Solution Approach 2:
The guide tool is designed as a universal device that can accommodate different implant types and sizes while maintaining positioning precision. The guide channel and positioning marks are configured to work with various implant geometries, and the tool can be used for different cartilage repair procedures. This multi-functionality reduces the need for multiple specialized tools, decreasing overall device complexity while preserving accuracy.
Data Source
AI summary
A method for designing an implant includes designing a contour curvature of the implant so that an articulate surface of the implant is designed to correspond to a simulated healthy cartilage surface reconstructed from a 3D model based on one or more images taken with MRI or CT-scanning of a damaged cartilage surface of a joint; and providing a positioning mark on a surface of the implant. The positioning mark is provided such that the positioning mark is parted from the center of the implant to be visible for a surgeon and is adapted to be used for indicating a rotational position of the implant to the surgeon.