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Innovative Method for Custom-Fit Joint Replacement

IP Title

Intraoperative Joint Force Measuring Device, System And Method

Detailed Technology Description

None

Supplementary Information

Inventor: FUDEWAKI YUUICHI | TAMIYA NORIHIRO | ISHIGAMI TADATOMI
Priority Number: JP5232233A
IPC Current: B60S000500 | G01S001788 | G01S001793
Assignee Applicant: Mitsubishi Electric Corp
Title: DISTANCE MEASURING DEVICE FOR CAR
Usefulness: DISTANCE MEASURING DEVICE FOR CAR

Industry

Automotive

Sub Category

Vehicle Accessories

Application Date

Jun 30, 2005

Application No.

7,458,989

Others

*Abstract

Invention

The University of Florida is seeking companies interested in commercializing a method for implanting custom-fit joint replacements. More than one million joint replacement surgeries were performed in 2005, according to the American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons. The demand for such procedures is expected to rise exponentially in coming years, based on rising elderly populations and an increase in sedentary lifestyle in the United States. However, existing methods of implanting joint replacements are not capable of measuring forces from a variety of real-life impact situations and cannot be tailored to an individual patient’s needs. This unique technology includes both a method and device for generating quantitative intraoperative measurements to determine the proper placement and arrangement of a joint replacement specific to individual needs. The ability to construct a custom-fitting joint replacement ensures optimal post-operative results and a decreased chance of needing repositioning operations.

Application

A method for performing joint replacement surgery that improves implant fit through intraoperative testing

Advantages

• Provides improved implant fit during joint replacement operations, providing unique competitive advantage as the most effective procedure
• Utilizes quantitative testing methods, providing the most accurate and reliable information to ensure a custom fit
• Applicable to a variety of different replacement surgical procedures, increasing profit potential by providing multiple market applications
• Increases post-operative success rate, decreasing medical costs associated with post-operative complications and repositioning surgery
• Innovative system of intraoperative testing, protecting the patient from painful complications that result from current trial-and-error methods while ensuring optimal fit

Technology

During hip and other joint replacement surgeries it is often difficult to assess how prosthetic component placement and/or design will affect tension in the surrounding soft-tissue and musculature over the range of joint motion. Currently, subjective evaluation is performed manually by the surgeon, who must make component positioning and implant selection decisions without quantitative information. The current invention describes an instrumented femoral head designed to measure the hip joint reaction forces during hip replacement surgery in order to provide quantitative assessment of joint forces and tissue tensioning during surgery. The instrumented femoral head is designed to be placed in the usual fashion onto the tapered trunion of the trial prosthetic stem. This includes a mechanism to adjust the distance between the attachment point of the femoral head on the trunion and the center of the spherical head, allowing the neck offset to be adjusted with the trial implants in operation, improving the fit of a joint replacement while eliminating painful trial-and-error fitting techniques.

*IP Issue Date

Dec 2, 2008

*Principal Investigator

Name: Scott Banks

Department:

Name: Hiromasa Tanino

Department:

Country/Region

USA