Patient-Specific Tibial Cutting Blocks for Precise Alignment
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current orthopaedic surgical instruments are generic and do not account for individual patient anatomy, leading to challenges in precise placement and alignment during joint arthroplasty procedures, requiring surgeons to guesswork and estimate the correct positioning of instruments.
Innovation Solution
Customized patient-specific tibial cutting blocks with negative contours matching the patient's tibia anatomy, including tabs and a cutting guide, allowing precise alignment and reducing intra-operative decision-making, fabricated using materials like metallic and plastic resins.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If generic orthopaedic surgical instruments are used, then device complexity is reduced and ease of manufacture is improved, but measurement precision and positioning accuracy deteriorate due to inability to account for individual patient anatomy
Solution Approach 1:
Patient-specific instruments are fabricated before surgery based on pre-operative imaging data (CT or MRI scans). The instruments incorporate patient-specific anatomical surface contours that are determined and manufactured in advance, allowing precise positioning without requiring complex intraoperative adjustments or customization steps during the surgical procedure itself.
Solution Approach 2:
The patient-specific instruments include bone-contacting surfaces that are negative impressions or copies of the patient's actual bone surface geometry. These copied surfaces enable precise registration and positioning by matching the unique anatomical features of the individual patient's bone, thereby improving measurement precision while using standardized fabrication processes.
2Productivity
If generic orthopaedic surgical instruments are used, then ease of operation is maintained through standardization, but surgical time increases due to intra-operative estimation and guesswork for correct positioning
Solution Approach 1:
All positioning decisions and anatomical measurements are completed during pre-operative planning using imaging data. The patient-specific instruments are manufactured with pre-determined positioning features based on this advance planning, eliminating the need for time-consuming intraoperative estimation, guesswork, and adjustment procedures that would otherwise be required with generic instruments.
3Manufacturing precision
If customized patient-specific instruments are fabricated, then manufacturing precision and positioning accuracy are improved, but ease of manufacture deteriorates due to custom fabrication requirements
Solution Approach 1:
The patient-specific instruments are designed and fabricated using universal, off-the-shelf manufacturing processes and materials that are commonly available in orthopaedic supply chains. By leveraging standardized fabrication capabilities rather than requiring specialized custom manufacturing, the approach achieves high anatomical matching precision while maintaining relative ease of manufacture through the use of proven, repeatable processes.
Data Source
AI summary
A number of orthopaedic surgical instruments are disclosed. A method, apparatus, and system for fabricating such instruments are also disclosed.