Surgical Navigation Guide for Instrumentation Positioning
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current surgical navigation systems for precise instrumentation and implant placement in surgeries, such as hip replacements, often require expensive and potentially harmful imaging studies and are inconvenient due to high costs and operational demands, leading to sub-optimal implant positioning and increased complications like dislocation and implant wear.
Innovation Solution
The use of a multiaxial reference sensor and mechanical guides to spatially reference skeletal anatomy, allowing for accurate positioning of instrumentation and implants by correlating with the anterior pelvic plane, determined by pins/screws fixed in a specific spatial relationship, which also aids in determining limb length and trochanteric offset, and controlling acetabular depth and orientation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If surgical navigation systems use expensive imaging studies and complex registration procedures, then measurement precision is improved, but device complexity and cost increase significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts and eliminates the need for complex imaging studies and extensive registration procedures by using a simplified mechanical guide system with predefined spatial relationships. The guide directly references skeletal anatomy through surface landmarks, removing unnecessary system components and procedures while maintaining positioning accuracy.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent employs simple, inexpensive mechanical guides and instruments that can be used once and discarded, replacing expensive, complex navigation systems. These disposable guides provide sufficient precision for the procedure without requiring costly infrastructure or complex setup.
2Measurement precision
If surgical navigation systems require extensive registration procedures, then measurement precision is improved, but loss of time increases
Solution Approach 1:
The mechanical guides are designed with predefined spatial relationships and geometric constraints that automatically establish accurate references without requiring time-consuming intraoperative registration procedures. The guides incorporate pre-calculated positioning geometry that eliminates the need for complex setup and calibration steps during surgery.
3Manufacturing precision
If accurate implant placement is achieved through complex navigation, then manufacturing precision is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces simple mechanical guides as intermediaries between the surgeon and the implant placement process. These guides provide direct geometric constraints and physical references that ensure accurate implant positioning without requiring complex electronic navigation systems or sophisticated software.
Data Source
AI summary
The disclosed devices and methods relate to fixing (i.e., positioning) a multiaxial reference sensor (e.g., inclinometer(s) and compass sensor) or a mechanical guide to the skeletal anatomy in a known orientation, and then utilizing this reference sensor or mechanical guide to position instrumentation and/or implants with a second multiaxial positioning sensor or via a guide rod that provides spatial positioning information relative to the reference sensor or skeletally fixed references.