Tech Blog: Minimally Invasive Guide for Hip Fracture Surgeries
With internal funds from the University of Arizona, Daniel Latt, M.D. Ph.D., associate professor in the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery at the University of Arizona College of Medicine-Tucson, has created a new device to shorten the time of hip fracture surgeries.
Currently, hip fracture surgery using a sliding hip screw requires the surgeon to make a 15-20 cm incision through which the thigh muscles can be elevated to provide access to the side of the femur. This approach is time consuming and results in substantial blood loss. The device Latt has invented guides the placement of the implant through the skin and soft tissues using x-ray guidance allowing surgeons to do the same surgery through a five-centimeter incision.
Not only does the device allow for smaller incisions, but also its use should lead to decreased surgery time and more accurate implant positioning by eliminating the “trial-and-error” process that is currently used to place the guide pin in the desired position. “The guide allows us to place the pins much more easily and with fewer attempts because it breaks down the process of pin placement into independent steps,” said Latt. ”by separating the degrees of freedom, the surgery can be performed in a simple “linear” fashion without the need for iteration”.
This device will hopefully enable inexperienced surgeons – such as the residents who perform many of these surgeries – to achieve the speed and precision comparable to that of surgeons with many years of experience. “I think the most exciting thing about this invention is that it allows us to do this surgery in a reproduceable way in a much smaller incision, with less time for the patient in surgery, which ultimately leads to less blood loss and shorter hospital stays,” said Lat
|
|
Interested in learning more about this invention? Would you like to talk to us about licensing opportunities? Visit the link below for details and contact information.
UA15-056: Minimally Invasive Percutaneous Guide for Hip Fracture Fixation
And check out these related technologies: