Threaded Surgical Tool Guides for Minimally Invasive Alignment
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Minimally invasive surgeries lack precise guidance, relying heavily on surgeon skill, leading to inconsistent outcomes, particularly in complex procedures like Charcot neuropathy, which require high accuracy and reduced incisions.
Innovation Solution
The use of fixtures and guides formed from radiolucent materials with integrated radiopaque elements that provide fluoroscopic guidance, allowing for precise alignment and tool positioning without direct patient contact, enabling preoperative or intraoperative adjustment for various surgical techniques.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Object-affected harmful factors
If minimally invasive surgeries are performed without guidance fixtures, then surgical invasiveness is reduced, but surgical precision and consistency deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces guidance fixtures and radiolucent base plates as intermediary tools that mediate between the surgeon and the patient's anatomy. These fixtures provide physical guidance for tool positioning and fluoroscopic guidance for visual alignment, enabling precise minimally invasive procedures without direct contact between the surgeon and the patient during critical alignment steps
2Manufacturing precision
If guidance fixtures are introduced for surgical precision, then surgical precision improves, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The guidance system is segmented into modular components including radiolucent base plates, adjustable guidance fixtures, and separate tool guides. This segmentation allows each component to be optimized independently and facilitates easy setup and adjustment during surgery, reducing the perceived complexity despite the sophisticated functionality
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces complex mechanical guidance systems with a combination of radiolucent materials for physical support and fluoroscopic imaging for guidance. This substitution eliminates the need for complex mechanical linkages and moving parts while achieving equivalent or superior guidance precision
3Measurement precision
If radiolucent materials with radiopaque elements are used, then fluoroscopic guidance precision improves, but material selection complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs composite construction by combining radiolucent base materials (such as polymers or ceramics) with embedded radiopaque elements (such as metal markers or contrast agents). This composite approach enables the base plate to be radiolucent for patient safety while incorporating radiopaque features for precise fluoroscopic visualization and alignment measurement
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
Enhances surgical precision and consistency by providing fluoroscopic and physical guidance, reducing invasiveness and accelerating recovery times through improved alignment and tool guidance during minimally invasive procedures.
Implementation Method 1
The base plate is formed from a radiolucent material... providing fluoroscopic guidance
Implementation Method 2
The first body supports at least one first radiopaque member... providing a visual indication of proper alignment when viewed using fluoroscopy
Data Source
AI summary
A system includes a first tool having a base, a nut, and a tool guide. The base extends from a first end to a second end and includes at least one thread disposed along a length thereof. The first end includes a foot having a widthwise dimension that is greater than a diameter of the at least one thread. The nut is configured to be disposed along the length of the base and to engage at least one thread. The tool guide is configured to be slideably disposed along the length of the base and has a body including a flange portion. The flange portion defines an opening for receiving at least one of a pin and a cutting tool. Rotation of the first nut causes the nut to translate along the length of the base thereby causing the tool guide to move along the length of the base.