Range of motion evaluation in orthopedic surgery

Inventors

Couture, Pierre

Assignees

Advita Ortho LLC

Abstract

A system and method may be used to evaluate soft tissue. A hip joint evaluation may use an adjustable spacer, such as varying sized physical spacers or an inflatable bladder, along with a sensor to measure force, pressure, gap distance, or the like, for example during a range of motion test. A method may include using a maximum pressure during the range of motion test to determine a maximum pressure during the range of motion test. The maximum pressure may be output for display on a user interface.

Core Innovation

The invention generates a preoperative plan for a hip arthroplasty and provides a surgical system including a computer system and an adjustable spacer having one or more integral pumps. During a hip replacement procedure, a trial is inserted in a proximal femur with the adjustable spacer in a neck portion of the trial, and the adjustable spacer is inflated to a fixed neck length or a fixed pressure using the integral pumps.

Throughout a range of motion test, the method measures a mechanical response using a sensor device with the trial in place and the adjustable spacer held at the fixed neck length or fixed pressure. In one approach, a force sensor device measures force on the adjustable spacer and a maximum force is determined during the test. In another approach, a sensor device measures neck length on the adjustable spacer and a maximum neck length is determined during the test.

The method further tracks a position of bones of the hip joint utilizing an optical tracking system operatively coupled to the surgical system throughout the range of motion test. The maximum force or the maximum neck length is output for display on a user interface of the computer system, and the preoperative plan is changed by changing a planned femoral implant size based on the maximum force or the maximum neck length.

Claims Coverage

The patent provides two independent method claims that share a common workflow involving a preoperative plan for hip arthroplasty, a trial with an adjustable spacer having one or more integral pumps, a range of motion test, optical tracking of hip bone positions, determination of a maximum measured value, display of that value, and changing a planned femoral implant size based on the measured value. The claims differ in whether the maximum measured value is maximum force at a fixed neck length or maximum neck length at a fixed pressure.

Overall, the claim set covers intraoperative evaluation during hip arthroplasty using a trial neck portion with an adjustable spacer driven by integral pumps, optical tracking of hip bone positions, and determination of a maximum measured parameter during a range of motion test. The maximum force or the maximum neck length is displayed and used to change the planned femoral implant size.

Stated Advantages

Documented Applications