Patient-Specific Tibial Cutting Blocks for Joint Arthroplasty
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current orthopaedic surgical instruments are generic and lack patient-specific customization, leading to challenges in precise placement and alignment during joint arthroplasty procedures, requiring surgeons to rely on guesswork and estimation for instrument positioning.
Innovation Solution
Development of customized patient-specific tibial cutting blocks with negative contours matching the patient's tibia anatomy, including posterior 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
1Manufacturing precision
If generic orthopaedic surgical instruments are used, then device complexity is reduced and ease of manufacture is improved, but placement precision and alignment accuracy deteriorate
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 placement without requiring complex intra-operative alignment procedures.
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 alignment by matching the unique anatomical features of the individual patient's bone structure.
2Manufacturing precision
If generic orthopaedic surgical instruments are used, then ease of operation is maintained through standardization, but alignment accuracy and placement precision deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
All alignment calculations and positioning decisions are made before surgery through pre-operative planning using imaging data. The patient-specific instrument is designed to automatically achieve the desired alignment when placed on the patient's bone, eliminating the need for complex intra-operative measurement and adjustment procedures.
Solution Approach 2:
The patient-specific bone-contacting surfaces enable the instrument to self-align and self-position on the patient's bone. The unique anatomical features of the bone surface act as natural registration points, allowing the instrument to find its correct position automatically without requiring complex alignment procedures by the surgeon.
3Manufacturing precision
If customized patient-specific instruments are fabricated, then placement precision and cutting plane accuracy are improved, but manufacturing complexity and time consumption increase
Solution Approach 1:
Patient-specific instruments are fabricated before surgery based on pre-operative imaging data. This shifts the time investment to the pre-operative phase, allowing adequate time for manufacturing while eliminating time-consuming alignment procedures during the actual surgery.
Solution Approach 2:
Only the bone-contacting surfaces of the instruments are customized to match patient-specific anatomy, while other portions of the instrument can use standardized components. This selective customization reduces manufacturing complexity and cost while maintaining the precision benefits where they are most needed.
Data Source
AI summary
A customized patient-specific tibial cutting block comprising a body having a bone-facing surface that has a customized patient-specific negative contour configured to receive (i) a portion of an anterior side of a patient's tibia that has a corresponding positive contour, and (ii) a portion of a medial side of the patient's tibia that has a corresponding positive contour such that, when viewed superiorly, an angle greater than zero is defined between a vertically-extending, bisecting plane of the body and a bisecting sagittal plane of the patient's tibia when the portions of the patient's tibia are received in the customized patient-specific negative contour of the body, and at least one tab extending posteriorly from the body, the at least one tab having a bone-facing surface having a customized patient-specific negative contour configured to receive a portion of the proximal side of the patient's tibia that has a corresponding positive contour.