Patient-Specific Tibial Guide for Unicompartmental Knee Resection

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Solution Overview

Problem

Current surgical methods for unicompartmental knee arthroplasty lack precision and accuracy in guiding resections and implant placement due to non-customized instruments, which can lead to suboptimal outcomes and increased complexity during procedures.

Innovation Solution

Development of patient-specific guides and instruments, such as tibial and femoral guides, designed from three-dimensional digital images of the patient's knee, allowing for precise alignment and resection planning, including drill guides and templates that conform to individual anatomy for unicompartmental knee arthroplasty.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Manufacturing precision

If non-customized surgical instruments are used for unicompartmental knee arthroplasty, then device complexity is reduced and ease of manufacture is improved, but manufacturing precision and measurement precision deteriorate due to inability to conform to individual patient anatomy

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveprecision in guiding resections and implant placementVSAvoidcomplexity of patient-specific guides and instruments

Core Design Contradiction:

Manufacturing precisionVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

Patient-specific guides and instruments are designed and manufactured preoperatively based on three-dimensional digital images of the patient's knee joint. This preliminary design and customization phase enables precise conformance to individual anatomy, achieving high manufacturing precision while allowing for standardized mass production of the customized instruments themselves.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #10Preliminary action

Solution Approach 2:

The guides and instruments are designed with patient-specific anatomical features and surface geometries that conform precisely to the individual patient's knee joint structure. This local customization of the guide surfaces to match specific patient anatomy enables precise alignment and positioning during surgery, directly improving manufacturing precision for resections and implant placement.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #3Local quality

2Measurement precision

If non-customized instruments are used, then device complexity is reduced, but measurement precision and surgical accuracy worsen due to lack of anatomical conformance

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveaccuracy in alignment and resection planningVSAvoidcomplexity of customized guides and templates

Core Design Contradiction:

Measurement precisionVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

Three-dimensional digital images of the patient's knee joint are obtained and analyzed preoperatively to create customized guides and instruments. This preliminary measurement and planning phase enables precise determination of anatomical landmarks, alignment parameters, and resection depths, achieving high measurement precision before the actual surgery.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #10Preliminary action

Solution Approach 2:

The guides and templates incorporate patient-specific anatomical surface geometries and feature locations that are uniquely tailored to each patient's knee joint structure. This local customization enables precise registration and alignment during surgery, directly improving measurement precision for alignment and resection planning.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #3Local quality

3Manufacturing precision

If standardized guides are used, then ease of operation is maintained, but manufacturing precision deteriorates due to inability to account for individual anatomical variations

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveprecision of resection and implant placementVSAvoidsimplicity of surgical procedure

Core Design Contradiction:

Manufacturing precisionVSEase of operation

Solution Approach 1:

All complex measurements, alignments, and surgical parameters are determined preoperatively through three-dimensional digital imaging and planning. The patient-specific guides are designed and manufactured before surgery based on this preliminary work, which transfers the complexity from the surgical procedure to the preoperative planning phase, thereby simplifying the actual surgical operation while maintaining high precision.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #10Preliminary action

Solution Approach 2:

The guides incorporate patient-specific anatomical surface geometries that enable self-alignment and self-positioning during surgery. This local customization creates intuitive, anatomy-matched interfaces that are actually easier to operate than standardized guides, as they naturally conform to the patient's unique anatomy without requiring complex adjustment procedures.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #3Local quality

Data Source

PatentUS8979856B2Patient-specific partial knee guides and other instruments

Publication Date: 2015.03.17 MATERIALISE NV

AI summary

A surgical kit for unicompartmental knee arthroplasty includes a unitary patient-specific unicompartmental tibial guide and a tibial drill template and other instruments. The tibial guide has a patient-specific body with an inner surface preoperatively configured to nestingly conform and mate in only one position with an anterior portion and a proximal portion of one compartment of a tibial bone of a specific patient. The tibial guide includes a drill guide portion preoperatively configured for drilling first and second anterior holes into the tibial bone for guiding a horizontal tibial resection. The tibial guide includes a vertical resection guide portion preoperatively configured for guiding a vertical resection through the tibial bone before the horizontal resection.