Tool-Free Orthopedic Adapter for Controlled Electric Impacts
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing adapters for electrically powered surgical impacting tools in orthopedic procedures suffer from imprecision, lack of control over impact force and frequency, high capital costs, and poor energy coupling, leading to inaccurate cavity formation and potential trauma to the surgical area.
Innovation Solution
An adapter for an electric motor-driven orthopedic impacting tool that efficiently couples impact energy to surgical implements, providing controlled percussive impacts and bidirectional movement, with features like sensors and dampening mechanisms to enhance precision and surgeon control.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Force
If pneumatic impacting is used, then impact force is generated, but portability is lost due to air line tethering and fatigue
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces the pneumatic mechanical system with an electric motor-driven system. The electric motor directly drives the impacting mechanism, eliminating the need for compressed air lines and providing portable, wire-free operation while maintaining controlled impact force generation.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent eliminates the pneumatic system entirely by using an electric motor to generate the impacting force. This substitution removes the tethering air line requirement and allows for portable operation without the fatigue associated with pneumatic operation.
2Force
If pneumatic impacting is used, then impact force is generated, but precise control of impact force and frequency is lost
Solution Approach 1:
The patent incorporates sensors that detect the position, speed, and force of the impacting tool during operation. This feedback is fed to a control system that adjusts the motor output in real-time to maintain precise control over impact force and frequency, ensuring accurate broaching of the cavity.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent uses a programmable motor control system that can adjust multiple parameters including impact force, frequency, and duration. The system can change these parameters dynamically during operation to achieve precise control over the impacting process, something not possible with pneumatic systems.
3Productivity
If pneumatic impacting is used, then cavity formation is achieved, but accuracy and precision are reduced due to wide ranges of motion perpendicular to cutting axis
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces the pneumatic mechanical system with an electrically-driven system that provides more precise control over the impacting motion. The electric motor can control the angle and direction of impact more accurately, reducing the wide ranges of motion perpendicular to the cutting axis that occur with pneumatic tools.
Solution Approach 2:
The sensor feedback system allows real-time monitoring and adjustment of the impacting tool's position and orientation. This ensures that the tool maintains the correct angle and path during cavity formation, improving accuracy and precision by compensating for any deviations in motion.
4Power
If existing adapters are used, then impact energy is transferred, but energy coupling is poor with losses of 50% or greater
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a specialized adapter as an intermediary component between the impacting tool and the surgical implement. This adapter is designed with specific mechanical features including a tapered interface and damping elements that improve energy transfer efficiency, reducing the 50% energy loss typical of existing adapters.
Solution Approach 2:
The adapter incorporates damping elements and compliant features that cushion and optimize the transfer of impact energy. These elements are designed beforehand to reduce energy loss at the interface between the impacting tool and surgical implement, improving overall energy coupling efficiency.
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
The adapter achieves improved accuracy and reduced trauma by effectively transferring at least 50% of impact energy to surgical implements, allowing precise cavity formation and minimizing stress on bones, while offering tactile feedback and reducing unnecessary mechanical stress.
Implementation Method 1
The adapter is capable of holding a broach, chisel, or other end effector and delivering power from the impactor to gently tap the broach, chisel or other end effector into the cavity
Implementation Method 2
with features like sensors and dampening mechanisms to enhance precision and surgeon control
Data Source
AI summary
An electrically driven orthopedic impactor may include an adapter for interfacing between the orthopedic impactor and a surgical implement. The adapter may have a first surface that transmits a forward impact energy and a second surface that transmits a reverse impact energy. The adapter can connect to the surgical implement and to the orthopedic impactor without the use of external tools. The adapter may connect to the orthopedic impactor via a pushing motion and may disconnect from the orthopedic impactor via a reciprocal sleeve. A sensor can communicate a spatial orientation of the adapter with respect to at least one reference point that is not located on the adapter or the orthopedic impactor. A communication device may transmit information to the orthopedic impactor related to frequency or impact energy settings based on a type of surgical implement attached to the adapter.