Virtual Internal Fixture Generation for Fracture Reduction
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Current internal fixation procedures for fractures are challenging due to the variability in the number, position, and shape of fracture fragments, leading to difficulties in manufacturing personalized internal fixtures and achieving accurate reduction and fixation.
Innovation Solution
A method and apparatus for generating a virtual internal fixture based on image reduction of fractured bones, which involves recognizing fracture fragment positions and shapes, determining conformity, performing image reduction, and generating a virtual internal fixture with adjustable fixing hole positions and directions.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If commercialized standardized plates and screws are used for internal fixation, then manufacturing cost and availability are improved, but fitting accuracy and procedure success rate deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary image reduction and virtual internal fixation planning before the actual surgery. By pre-determining the optimal plate configuration, hole positions, and screw insertion points through image processing and virtual simulation, the system enables customized plate design that fits the patient's specific bone geometry, thereby resolving the contradiction between standardized manufacturing and custom fitting accuracy
Solution Approach 2:
The system creates a virtual copy of the patient's fractured bone structure through medical image processing and reduction algorithms. This digital replica is then used to design and manufacture a customized internal fixture that precisely matches the patient's anatomy, allowing standardized manufacturing processes to produce custom-fitted implants, thus resolving the contradiction between manufacturing standardization and fitting precision
2Adaptability or versatility
If the number of fracture fragments increases and irregular shape occurs, then fracture complexity increases, but reduction difficulty and procedure time increase
Solution Approach 1:
The system automatically segments the fractured bone into multiple fragments through image processing and identifies each fragment's position, shape, and orientation. By computationally dividing and analyzing each fragment separately, the system can handle complex multi-fragment fractures without proportionally increasing procedure difficulty, as the computer-aided system manages the complexity that would be overwhelming for manual reduction
Solution Approach 2:
The system changes the approach from manual physical manipulation to computational parameter analysis. By representing fracture fragments as digital objects with measurable parameters (position, orientation, shape), the system can systematically handle varying numbers and configurations of fragments through algorithmic processing rather than manual trial-and-error, thereby maintaining manageable complexity despite increased fracture variability
3Loss of time
If mirror image of opposite non-fractured bone is used to infer original shape, then quick estimation is improved, but accuracy deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of relying on the opposite bone as an external reference, the system uses the fractured bone fragments themselves as the reference. By analyzing the geometry and arrangement of the actual fracture fragments and performing image reduction on them, the system infers the original bone shape directly from the patient's own anatomy, eliminating the need for mirror imaging while maintaining both speed and accuracy
Solution Approach 2:
The system replaces the manual mirror-imaging technique with automated image processing algorithms. Through computer-aided reduction and digital reconstruction of fracture fragment positions, the system quickly and accurately infers the original bone shape without manual intervention, substituting computational mechanics for the imprecise mechanical mirror-imaging method
4Ease of manufacture
If plate shape and size are selected from standardized options, then manufacturing simplicity is improved, but bone conformity and fixation reliability deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary virtual internal fixation simulation to determine the optimal plate configuration before manufacturing. By pre-calculating the ideal plate shape, size, and hole positions based on the patient's specific bone geometry and fracture pattern, the system enables customized plate design that ensures reliable fixation, resolving the contradiction between standardized manufacturing and fixation reliability
Solution Approach 2:
The system transitions from static standardized plate selection to dynamic customized plate design. By adapting the plate configuration to match the specific anatomical and fracture characteristics of each patient through image-based planning, the system creates dynamic, patient-specific solutions rather than forcing static standardized options onto varying anatomies, thereby ensuring fixation reliability
Data Source
AI summary
Provided are a method and an apparatus for generating a virtual internal fixture on the basis of image reduction, the method including: recognizing positions and shapes of multiple fracture fragments in a medical fracture image including a fracture site; determining conformity of the multiple fracture fragments by analyzing the shapes of the multiple fracture fragments; performing image reduction of the fracture site by moving the positions of the multiple fracture fragments on the basis of the conformity; and generating the virtual internal fixture for fixing the fracture site for which image reduction has been performed.