Transversal Member Fixation for Knee Joint Stability
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current knee replacement surgeries face challenges in achieving stable fixation and optimal alignment of artificial knee joints, leading to potential instability and limited range of motion.
Innovation Solution
A medical device featuring a transversal member that is placed through multiple layers of cortical bone in the femoral bone, providing stable fixation and serving as a component of the artificial knee joint or cruciate ligament, with optional fixation portions and adjustable components for optimal alignment.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a prosthesis is placed on the condyles with conventional surgery, then the knee joint can be replaced, but stable fixation and optimal alignment are difficult to achieve
Solution Approach 1:
The prosthesis is divided into separate components: a femoral component with condyles and a separate tibial component with plateau and tray. This segmentation allows independent positioning and fixation of each component, enabling stable fixation while maintaining surgical simplicity. The femoral component can be fixed to the femur while the tibial component is separately fixed to the tibia, achieving reliable fixation without complex integrated structures.
Solution Approach 2:
A transversal member (such as a nail or rod) is introduced as an intermediary element that passes through the femur and engages with the femoral component. This intermediary provides additional stabilization and alignment control during fixation, addressing the reliability issue without requiring the fixation structure itself to be complex. The transversal member acts as a mediator between the bone and the prosthesis component.
2Ease of operation
If the artificial knee joint is positioned to achieve optimal alignment, then the range of motion is improved, but fixation stability becomes more difficult to ensure
Solution Approach 1:
The prosthesis design incorporates dynamic elements that allow adjustment and adaptation during the healing process. The modular construction with separate fixation components enables initial stable fixation that can accommodate postoperative movement and settling, maintaining both fixation stability and range of motion. The components can settle into their final positions while maintaining stable fixation through the distributed fixation strategy.
3Productivity
If the prosthesis components are simplified for easier surgery, then the surgical procedure is faster, but alignment precision and fixation stability are compromised
Solution Approach 1:
The femoral component is designed with universal features that serve multiple functions: the condyles provide articulation surfaces, the geometry provides alignment references, and the attachment interface provides fixation points. This multi-functionality allows a single component design to address alignment, fixation, and articulation requirements without requiring multiple specialized components, thus maintaining precision while simplifying the overall procedure.
Data Source
AI summary
A medical device for creating an artificial knee joint or an artificial cruciate ligament in a mammal patient, the medical device comprising a transversal member adapted to be placed through at least three layers of cortical bone of the distal portion of the femoral bone, out of totally four cortical layers along a prolongation of the transversal member. The transversal member is adapted to be involved in the artificial knee joint or the artificial cruciate ligament, wherein the transversal member comprises at least one fixation portion adapted to be involved in fixation of the transversal member to at least one of the at least four layers of femoral cortical bone.