Muscular-skeletal joint stability detection and method therefor
First Claim
1. A system for detecting micro-motion in an orthopedic implant comprising:
- an inertial sensor;
electronic circuitry coupled to the inertial sensor wherein the electronic circuitry includes a transmitter configured to transmit quantitative measurement data from the inertial sensor;
a pulse generator configured to generate a pulse that traverses a bond coupling the orthopedic implant to the musculoskeletal system and wherein the inertial sensor receives the pulse after traversing the bond; and
a remote system configured to receive the quantitative measurement data where the remote system processes the quantitative measurement data from the inertial sensor to determine micro-motion or changes in micro-motion due to weakening of the bond.
2 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
An orthopedic implant having a three-axis accelerometer is disclosed. The three-axis accelerometer is used to detect micro-motion in the implant. The micro-motion can be due to loosening of the implant. The implant is configured to couple to the muscular-skeletal system. In one embodiment, the implant is configured to couple to bone. An impact force is imparted to the bone or implant. The impact force can be provided via a transducer coupled to the implant. In the example, the impact force is imparted along a single axis. The three-axis accelerometer measures the impact force along each axis. Resultant peaks of the quantitative measurement and the frequencies at which they occur are measured. The peaks and frequencies of the measurements correspond to micro-motion. Typically, the frequency of interest is less than 1 KHz to determine if micro-motion is occurring.
-
Citations
20 Claims
-
1. A system for detecting micro-motion in an orthopedic implant comprising:
-
an inertial sensor; electronic circuitry coupled to the inertial sensor wherein the electronic circuitry includes a transmitter configured to transmit quantitative measurement data from the inertial sensor; a pulse generator configured to generate a pulse that traverses a bond coupling the orthopedic implant to the musculoskeletal system and wherein the inertial sensor receives the pulse after traversing the bond; and a remote system configured to receive the quantitative measurement data where the remote system processes the quantitative measurement data from the inertial sensor to determine micro-motion or changes in micro-motion due to weakening of the bond. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10)
-
-
11. A system for detecting micro-motion in a prosthetic component comprising:
-
an inertial sensor coupled to the prosthetic component wherein the prosthetic component is configured to be bonded to the musculoskeletal system; electronic circuitry coupled to the inertial sensor wherein the electronic circuitry includes a transmitter configured to transmit quantitative measurement data from the inertial sensor wherein the inertial sensor is configured to receive a pulse that traverses a bond holding the prosthetic component to the musculoskeletal system; and a remote system configured to receive the quantitative measurement data where the remote system processes the quantitative measurement data to determine micro-motion or changes in micro-motion in the prosthetic component that corresponds to loosening of the prosthetic component. - View Dependent Claims (12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19)
-
-
20. A method for determining interface stability between an orthopedic implant and a muscular-skeletal system comprising the steps of:
-
measuring a pulse through a bond holding the orthopedic implant to the muscular-skeletal system; measuring peaks of the pulse at frequencies less than 1 KHz along each axis; measuring at what frequencies the peaks occur along each axis; and determining the stability of the implant.
-
Specification