SURGICAL INSTRUMENT

• US 20100292743A1
• Filed: 10/02/2007
• Published: 11/18/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 10/03/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Biomet UK Ltd (Zimmer Biomet Holdings, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Biomet UK Ltd (Zimmer Biomet Holdings, Inc.)
• Inventors: Pitkanen, Heikki Vihelm, Singhal, Keshav, Metcalfe, Nick James Theophilius
• Granted Patent: US 9,572,590 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 606/86.00R
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 17/175 for preparing the femur for hip prosthesis insertion

Abstract

An instrument (2) for aligning a surgical tool, the instrument (2) comprising, a body portion (4) having a tool guide (90), first and second arms (6), (8) operatively connected to the body portion (4) and adapted to engage a bone, and urging means (10), acting between the body portion (4) and the first and second arms (6), (8), for urging the first and second arms (6), (8) into engagement with a predetermined portion of a bone, thereby clamping the arms (6), (8) onto the bone and aligning the tool guide (90) with the bone.

Claims

1. An instrument for aligning a surgical tool, the instrument comprising, a body portion having a tool guide, first and second arms operatively connected to the body portion and adapted to engage a bone, and urging means, acting between the body portion and the first and second arms, for urging the first and second arms into engagement with a predetermined portion of a bone, thereby clamping the arms onto the bone and aligning the tool guide with the bone.

2. An instrument for aligning a surgical tool as claimed in claim 1, wherein the first and second arms terminate in first and second jaws.

3. An instrument for aligning a surgical tool as claimed in claim 2, wherein the first jaw is curved.

4. An instrument for aligning a surgical tool as claimed in claim 1, wherein the second jaw is bifurcated and has at least two distinct jaw elements.

5. An instrument for aligning a surgical tool as claimed in claim 1, wherein the first and second arms are pivotally connected to the body portion.

6. An instrument for aligning a surgical tool as claimed in claim 1, wherein the arms are connected to the body portion by means of a linkage which constrains the arms to translate laterally of the body portion, towards and away from one another.

7. An instrument for aligning a surgical tool as claimed in claim 6, wherein the linkage in a quadrilateral linkage.

8. An instrument for aligning a surgical tool as claimed in claim 1, wherein the first and second arms are disposed on opposed sides of the body portion.

9. An instrument for aligning a surgical tool as claimed in claim 1, wherein the urging means engages the body portion via a threaded connection.

10. An instrument for aligning a surgical tool as claimed in claim 9, wherein the urging means is a nut.

11. An instrument for aligning a surgical tool as claimed claim 10, wherein the nut comprises a tapering engagement surface, configured to engage the first and second arms directly.

12. An instrument for aligning a surgical tool as claimed in claim 1, wherein the body portion comprises a post having projecting tabs that extend from the post.

13. An instrument for aligning a surgical tool as claimed in claim 12, wherein the first and second arms are mounted in opposed recesses formed in the projecting tabs.

14. An instrument for aligning a surgical tool as claimed in claim 12, wherein each arm is pivotably connected to one of the tabs by means of a pinned joint.

15. An instrument for aligning a surgical tool as claimed in claim 1, wherein each arm is connected to the body portion at an intermediate position along its length.

16. An instrument for aligning a surgical tool as claimed in claim 1, wherein the tool guide is provided with a plurality of tool guiding openings.

17. An instrument for aligning a surgical tool as claimed in claim 14, wherein at least one of the tool guiding openings is differently aligned, so that when the first and second arms are clamped on the bone, the said tool guiding opening is aligned with a different part of the bone from the or each other tool guiding opening.

18. An instrument for aligning a surgical tool, as claimed in claim 16, wherein the tool guiding openings comprise bores having longitudinal axes, at least some of which converge at a point a predetermined distance proximal of the body portion.

19. An instrument as claimed in claim 16, wherein the longitudinal axes of some of the bores converge at a different point from the longitudinal axes of some others of the bores.

20. A method of aligning an instrument comprising a tool guide, the method comprising:

placing first and second arms of the instrument about a predetermined portion of a bone, the first and second arms being operatively connected to a body portion of the instrument and adapted to engage the bone; and

operating urging means to force the first and second arms to clamp the bone so as to align the tool guide with the bone, the urging means being arranged to act between the body portion and the first and second arms.