Tracker Integration on Surgical Cutting Block
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional surgical navigation systems in orthopaedic surgery require additional fixations to the bone for tracker attachment, leading to increased invasiveness, bone fragility, and procedural time, as they necessitate multiple holes and additional scars.
Innovation Solution
A surgical navigation device that utilizes a single fixation system for both the cutting block and bone tracker, allowing for real-time tracking and adjustment of the cutting plane with a fixed part attached to the bone and a mobile part that is adjustable, incorporating a parallel screw architecture and a template for anatomical alignment, thereby eliminating the need for additional bone tracker fixations.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If additional fixations are used to attach trackers to the bone, then tracking precision is improved, but invasiveness and bone fragility increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines the tracker attachment function with the cutting block fixation system. The tracker is integrated onto the cutting block itself, which is already fixed to the bone using fixation means (screws or pins). This merging eliminates the need for separate tracker fixations, thereby maintaining tracking precision while reducing invasiveness and bone fragility.
Solution Approach 2:
The cutting block is designed to serve multiple functions: it provides the cutting interface for bone resection and simultaneously serves as the mounting platform for the navigation tracker. This multi-functionality allows the same fixation system to accomplish both cutting guidance and position tracking, avoiding additional bone penetrations.
2Reliability
If additional fixations are used to attach trackers to the bone, then tracking stability is improved, but procedural time increases
Solution Approach 1:
By combining tracker attachment with the cutting block fixation process, the patent eliminates the need for separate tracker installation steps. The tracker is secured to the cutting block during the same procedure in which the cutting block is fixed to the bone, thereby maintaining tracking stability while reducing overall procedural time.
Solution Approach 2:
The tracker is pre-integrated onto the cutting block before the cutting block is applied to the bone. This preliminary integration ensures that the tracker is already in position and stable when navigation begins, eliminating the need for subsequent tracker installation and adjustment steps.
3Manufacturing precision
If additional fixations are used to attach trackers to the bone, then tracker positioning accuracy is improved, but the number of bone holes and scars increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges the tracker mounting function with the cutting block fixation system. Since the cutting block requires fixation to the bone for stable cutting guidance, the tracker is attached to the cutting block itself. This approach achieves accurate tracker positioning using the same fixation holes and scars already necessary for the cutting block, thereby avoiding additional bone penetrations and scars.
Data Source
AI summary
The invention relates to a surgical navigation device, for the purpose of adjusting a cutting plane to a desired position with respect to a bone of a patient, the device comprising:a fixed part (7) rigidly attached to the bone (18, 19), the fixed part comprising fixation means to rigidly attach a tracker thereto;a mobile part (5) adjustable with respect to the fixed part (7), including fixation means to rigidly attach a tracker thereto, and including a cutting slot (6) in which a saw blade can be inserted to perform cut;a fixed tracker (9) rigidly attached to the fixed part (7);a mobile tracker (1) attached to the mobile part (5).The invention also concerns a method for adjusting a cutting plane of a surgical device to a desired position with respect to a bone of a patient.