Tendon Repair Guide for Anchor Selection and Healing Area
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Solution Overview
Problem
Surgeons often choose tendon anchors based on personal preference rather than the most suitable option for the patient, leading to suboptimal tendon repair outcomes.
Innovation Solution
A tendon repair system that interactively visualizes different anchor options, determining the optimal number and type of anchors and free tendon-to-bone healing area, providing graphical and numerical representations to guide surgeons in selecting the best repair technique.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If surgeons choose tendon anchors based on personal preference, then the ease of operation is improved, but the reliability of tendon repair outcomes deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The system provides feedback to surgeons by calculating and displaying the optimal number of anchors and free healing area based on the patient's specific tendon tear characteristics. This feedback loop enables surgeons to make evidence-based decisions rather than relying solely on personal preference, thereby improving reliability while maintaining ease of operation through automated calculations.
Solution Approach 2:
The system changes the parameter of anchor selection from subjective surgeon preference to objective parameters including tear size, location, and calculated free healing area. By transforming the decision-making process into a parameter-based optimization problem, the system achieves both reliability through data-driven decisions and ease of operation through automated computations.
2Reliability
If more anchors are used to maximize healing area, then the reliability of tendon repair is improved, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary calculations to determine the optimal number of anchors and their placement before the surgical procedure. By pre-calculating the optimal configuration based on patient-specific parameters, the system avoids intraoperative complexity and decision-making difficulties, thereby improving reliability without increasing actual surgical device complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The system serves itself by automatically calculating and presenting the optimal anchor configuration without requiring complex manual computations or complex decision frameworks. The automated self-service approach simplifies the surgical planning process while maximizing healing area through data-driven optimization.
3Measurement precision
If the system provides detailed graphical and numerical representations of anchor options, then the measurement precision of repair parameters is improved, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system creates graphical and numerical representations (copies) of the optimal anchor configuration and alternative options. These visual and data representations provide precise measurement and comparison of repair parameters without requiring complex physical measurement tools or complicated analysis procedures, thereby improving measurement precision while keeping the system relatively simple.
Solution Approach 2:
The system adds dimensional representations by converting raw measurement data into graphical visualizations and structured numerical outputs. This dimensional transformation enables precise communication and comparison of repair parameters in multiple formats simultaneously, improving measurement precision without proportionally increasing device complexity.
Data Source
AI summary
A system for interactively visualizing different options for tendon repair for a surgeon and for informing the surgeon in a descriptive way of the different options is disclosed. The system may be configured to determine the size of a damaged tendon and propose solutions consisting of the anchor types, number of anchors and a free tendon-to-bone healing area associated with each proposed solution. As such, the system may make a surgeon aware of solutions for which the surgeon was otherwise unaware that are superior in free tendon-to-bone healing area or number of anchors, or both. The system increases the likelihood that a patient will receive the optimum number of anchors and free tendon-to-bone healing area in a tendon repair.