Variable Angle Blade Augment for Acetabular Shell Alignment
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current orthopedic medical devices for revision acetabular surgeries face challenges in aligning with patient anatomy due to limited adjustable angles and complex orientation designs, leading to increased surgical time and costs.
Innovation Solution
A variable angle blade augment system comprising a blade component with a buttress and neck portion, and an augment component with adjustable openings for fluid communication, allowing for selective adjustment of linear and angular orientations to accommodate various patient anatomies, facilitated by a mechanical connection and adhesive unitization.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If fixed angle buttress augment designs are used, then manufacturing and inventory management are simplified, but adaptability to diverse patient anatomies is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The blade augment incorporates a variable angle buttress surface that can be adjusted to different angles (e.g., 0°, 15°, 30°, 45°) relative to the augment body, allowing dynamic adaptation to diverse patient anatomies while maintaining a single device design
Solution Approach 2:
A single blade augment design serves multiple functions by accommodating various buttress angles and orientations, eliminating the need for multiple dedicated augment designs for different anatomical configurations
2Adaptability or versatility
If multiple hand configurations are provided, then adaptability to different surgical sides is improved, but device complexity and inventory requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The blade augment is designed with bilateral symmetry or interchangeable features that allow the same device to be used on both left and right sides, eliminating the need for separate hand-specific configurations
3Manufacturing precision
If fixed angle designs are used, then manufacturing precision is simplified, but alignment accuracy with patient anatomy is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The adjustable buttress angle mechanism allows post-manufacturing adjustment of the blade orientation to precisely match patient-specific anatomical requirements, achieving high alignment precision without requiring multiple precision-manufactured fixed angle variants
Data Source
AI summary
A variable angle blade augment including an augment component and a blade component. The blade component includes a buttress portion and a neck portion, with the neck portion having a body segment and a face segment that is contoured for mating engagement with an outer surface of the acetabular shell. The augment component has a first opening sized and shaped to receive insertion of the body segment, and which is also sized to accommodate selective adjustment of, when the body segment is positioned in the first opening, linear and angular orientations of the blade component relative to the augment component. Additionally, the body segment has a length that is sized to facilitate direct contact of the face segment with the acetabular shell when the variable angle blade augment is in an assembled configuration. Further, cement can be injected into the internal cavity to unitize the connection between the acetabular shell and the blade component.