Surgical Retractor Hinged Body Radiolucent Tips Deformable Fixation
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Solution Overview
Problem
During surgical procedures, especially those involving screw placement in bony structures, existing robotic systems and guides often experience undesirable locking between the driver and fixation element, leading to misalignment and mechanical backlash, which complicates the procedure and affects the final result.
Innovation Solution
A surgical retractor system with a hinged body, radiolucent tips, and a deformable member that can be fixed at a desired location to prevent misalignment and mechanical backlash, allowing for precise alignment and secure placement of implants along a desired trajectory.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Manufacturing precision
If a guide or robotic system is used to maintain the desired trajectory during screw placement, then the trajectory alignment is improved, but mechanical locking and backlash between the driver and fixation element occur, making it difficult to decouple the driver from the fixation element
Solution Approach 1:
The guide system is divided into separate functional components: a guide body that maintains trajectory alignment, a driver component for screw insertion, and a decoupling mechanism that allows easy separation. This segmentation enables each component to perform its specific function independently while maintaining overall system precision.
Solution Approach 2:
A decoupling mechanism serves as an intermediary element between the driver and fixation element, allowing the driver to be easily removed from the fixation element after screw placement. This intermediary component resolves the mechanical locking issue by providing a controlled separation interface.
2Ease of manufacture
If the drill trajectory is not corrected to compensate for contact forces during drilling, then the drilling process is simpler, but the actual drilled trajectory will not be aligned with the desired trajectory
Solution Approach 1:
The guide system is pre-configured with trajectory compensation features that automatically account for contact forces during drilling. The guide body includes pre-calculated alignment adjustments that compensate for bone movement, eliminating the need for complex real-time corrections while maintaining precision.
3Ease of manufacture
If the implant follows the drilled hole trajectory without trajectory correction, then the implant placement is simpler, but misalignment occurs between the implant and desired trajectory
Solution Approach 1:
The guide system pre-compensates for trajectory deviations by incorporating alignment features that ensure the drilled hole follows the desired trajectory from the start. This preliminary correction maintains simplicity in implant placement while guaranteeing alignment accuracy.
Solution Approach 2:
The guide system replaces complex mechanical trajectory correction mechanisms with a pre-configured guide body that inherently maintains the desired trajectory. This substitution simplifies the overall system while preserving precision through intelligent design rather than active correction.
4Stability of the object's composition
If a rigid guide structure is used to maintain trajectory, then trajectory stability is improved, but the guide cannot adapt to bone movement or anatomical variations
Solution Approach 1:
The guide system incorporates dynamic elements that allow controlled movement and adjustment. The guide body can accommodate bone movement through designed degrees of freedom while maintaining trajectory stability, enabling adaptation to anatomical variations without compromising precision.
Data Source
AI summary
A surgical retractor is disclosed herein. In some embodiments, a surgical retractor includes a body extending from a proximal end to a distal end and having a first portion coupled to a second portion via a hinged connection, wherein the first and second portions are configured to rotate about a body axis; a first radiolucent tip coupled to a distal portion of the first portion; a second radiolucent tip coupled to a distal portion of the second portion; a holder coupled to one of the first or second portions; and a deformable member extending through the holder, wherein the deformable member is configured to be deformed to facilitate fixation of the surgical retractor at a desired location.