Vibratory Acetabular Cup Insertion with Real-Time Force Sensing
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current total hip replacement surgeries face challenges with inconsistent acetabular cup placement due to unpredictable and uncontrolled forces used in traditional methods, leading to issues like hip instability, polyethylene wear, osteolysis, and the need for revision surgery, as existing navigation tools do not account for the forces applied during the insertion process.
Innovation Solution
A system and method utilizing vibratory energy to insert and position acetabular cups, with devices that provide real-time sensing and controlled force transfer, allowing for precise alignment and orientation without manual impact, and incorporating pneumatic and electric motor implementations to standardize the installation process.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Manufacturing precision
If traditional manual impact methods are used to insert acetabular cups, then the insertion process is simple and quick, but the placement precision and orientation accuracy are inconsistent and unpredictable
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces the traditional manual mechanical impact system with a controlled mechanical delivery system that uses computer-guided actuators to apply precise, controlled forces for acetabular cup insertion. This substitution enables standardized force application and real-time measurement, resolving the contradiction between simplicity and precision by automating the mechanical insertion process while maintaining ease of use through intuitive controls.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent incorporates force measurement sensors and computer guidance systems that provide real-time feedback during the acetabular cup insertion process. This feedback mechanism allows the system to monitor and adjust applied forces, ensuring consistent placement precision and orientation accuracy while maintaining a relatively simple user interface through automated control algorithms.
2Force
If automated computer-assisted navigation tools are used, then placement orientation can be determined, but the actual insertion forces remain uncontrolled and unpredictable
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements a continuous controlled force delivery system that maintains steady, monitored insertion forces throughout the acetabular cup placement process. This continuous action eliminates the intermittent, unpredictable forces of manual impact while integrating seamlessly with computer navigation, thereby controlling insertion forces without significantly extending surgical procedure time through efficient automated operation.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces a controlled mechanical delivery system as an intermediary between the surgeon's intent and the actual acetabular cup insertion. This intermediary device translates navigation guidance into precise, controlled force application, bridging the gap between planning and execution while maintaining surgical efficiency through automated force management.
3Reliability
If large impacting forces are applied to adjust prosthesis position, then positioning accuracy can be improved, but the risk of fracturing the acetabulum increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent transforms the insertion process by changing the force application parameters from high-magnitude impact forces to controlled, measured forces delivered through automated actuators. This parameter change maintains prosthesis positioning reliability through precise force control while eliminating the harmful high-impact forces that cause bone fracture risk, achieving both goals simultaneously through standardized force delivery.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent incorporates force measurement and monitoring capabilities that provide advance warning of excessive forces before they can cause bone fracture. This prior cushioning mechanism allows the system to prevent harmful force application while ensuring adequate positioning forces are delivered, thereby protecting the bone while maintaining positioning reliability.
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
This approach reduces the risk of fracturing the acetabulum, enables accurate and efficient acetabular cup placement, and improves surgical outcomes by providing a standardized installation process, even for less experienced surgeons, thereby minimizing complications and the need for revision surgeries.
Implementation Method 1
communicating an installation series of pulses to the prosthesis producing an applied series of pulses that imparts a vibratory motion to the prosthesis
Implementation Method 2
a sensor providing a real-time measurement of the force applied to the prosthesis by the pulse transfer assembly
Data Source
AI summary
A system and method for allowing any surgeon, including those surgeons who perform a fewer number of a replacement procedure as compared to a more experienced surgeon who performs a greater number of procedures, to provide an improved likelihood of a favorable outcome approaching, if not exceeding, a likelihood of a favorable outcome as performed by a very experienced surgeon with the replacement procedure. Force sensing is included to aid in quantifying installation of an implant, particularly a cup into a pelvic bone.