Tibial Baseplate Removal Template for Revision Surgery
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Solution Overview
Problem
During revision surgeries, surgeons face difficulties in removing complex tibial implants due to the inability to visually identify the stem component implanted within the bone, leading to potential damage and metal debris.
Innovation Solution
An orthopedic template with a footprint mimicking the configuration of the tibial implant's support member is used to guide bone-cutting instruments, allowing surgeons to safely remove the implant while minimizing contact with the unseen stem component.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If surgeons use traditional bone-cutting instruments to remove the tibial implant, then the implant can be removed, but the surgeon cannot visually identify the stem component configuration, leading to potential damage and metal debris
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies the copying principle by creating a template that replicates the exact configuration, shape, and features of the implanted stem component. This template serves as a visual and physical copy that the surgeon can see and use as a guide, allowing them to trace and identify the stem's keels, fins, and other features without directly seeing the implanted component. The copy enables safe bone cutting by providing a visible reference model.
Solution Approach 2:
The template acts as an intermediary between the surgeon and the implanted stem component. Instead of the surgeon directly interacting with the unseen stem, they interact with the visible template that mediates the process. The template translates the invisible stem configuration into a visible form that guides the bone-cutting instruments, preventing direct contact with the stem while enabling precise bone removal.
2Ease of operation
If surgeons incrementally cut away bone adjacent to the tibial implant, then the implant can be accessed for removal, but the complex configuration of the stem component makes the task increasingly difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The template copies the complex stem configuration, including keels, fins, and other features, providing a simplified visual representation that makes the removal process easier. Instead of dealing with the abstract complexity of the implanted component, the surgeon works with a concrete, visible copy that guides each cutting action.
Solution Approach 2:
The template is prepared in advance with the exact configuration of the stem component. This preliminary action of creating the template before surgery allows the complex configuration to be pre-processed and visualized, so the surgeon doesn't have to figure out the stem's features during the actual removal process.
3Strength
If the stem component has increasingly complex shapes to improve rotational stability and fixation, then implant performance is improved, but the ability to visually identify features during removal is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The template creates a visible copy of the complex stem configuration, allowing the intricate features designed for rotational stability (keels, fins, etc.) to be seen and used as guides during removal. The copy preserves all the geometric details of the high-performance stem while making them visible to the surgeon.
Data Source
AI summary
An orthopedic template configured to assist surgeons in removing a tibial implant previously implanted within a patient's bone. In use, the template provides a reference that mimics the underlying support member of the previously implanted tibial implant. That is, the template provides a representation or footprint that mimics the configuration of the underlying support member of a tibial implant, which cannot be readily seen when the tibial implant is inserted into a patient's bone. For example, the template may include a superiorly extending structure or a visual image that mimics the underlying configuration of the support member of the tibial implant. In use, the template may be positioned on a superior surface of the tibial implant. Thereafter, an instrument such as a bone cutter, can be used to trace the representation formed on the template while simultaneously cutting or removing bone beneath the tibial tray.