Threaded Targeting Guides for Precise Foot Implant Alignment
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current instruments for correcting bone deformities and fractures face issues with adequate surgical exposure, alignment variability, and inaccurate targeting, leading to instability during implantation.
Innovation Solution
A targeting guide assembly comprising a guide arm, guide tube, and guide pin, along with a method for securing bones using an implant holder, drill guide, and anchoring wires, ensuring precise alignment and stabilization of corrective devices.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If conventional alignment mechanisms are used, then the instruments can be operated, but surgical exposure is inadequate and alignment variability occurs
Solution Approach 1:
The targeting guide assembly is divided into separate modular components including a guide arm, guide tube, guide pin, and anchoring wires. This segmentation allows each component to be optimized for its specific function while maintaining overall system precision and facilitating easier surgical manipulation and exposure.
Solution Approach 2:
The guide pin is inserted into the bone first to establish the precise target location and trajectory before the guide tube and guide arm are assembled. This preliminary action ensures accurate positioning is achieved before final implant placement, resolving the contradiction between precision and surgical accessibility.
2Measurement precision
If conventional targeting methods are used, then the procedure can be completed, but targeting accuracy is inaccurate
Solution Approach 1:
The guide arm incorporates anchoring wires that are inserted into the bone beforehand to secure the guide arm in a fixed, stable position. This preliminary stabilization prevents movement and ensures consistent targeting accuracy throughout the implantation procedure, eliminating instability issues.
Solution Approach 2:
The guide tube serves as an intermediary component between the guide arm and the final implant. It maintains the precise trajectory established by the guide pin while providing a stable pathway for implant insertion, thereby ensuring both targeting accuracy and procedural stability.
3Reliability
If simple guide structures are used, then the device is easy to manufacture, but orientation reproducibility is poor
Solution Approach 1:
The guide arm is designed as a multi-functional component that combines positioning, alignment, and stabilization functions. It can be adapted to different implant types and surgical scenarios while maintaining consistent orientation reproducibility, thereby achieving high reliability without proportionally increasing manufacturing complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The guide tube incorporates adjustable parameters such as threaded portions and movable connections that allow precise control over orientation and positioning. These parameter adjustments enable reproducible alignment across different procedures while keeping the overall structure manufacturable through standardized components.
Data Source
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AI summary
Instruments, implants, bone plates, systems and methods for correcting bone deformities and fractures in the lower extremity are disclosed. Specifically, targeting instruments, implants, bone plates, systems and methods used for correcting bone deformities and/or fractures in the foot using compression are disclosed.