Mechanical axis alignment using MRI imaging
First Claim
1. A method of imaging a knee joint of a leg before surgery comprising:
- locating an approximate center of a femoral head of the leg;
locating an approximate center of an ankle joint of the leg;
locating an approximate center of a knee joint of the leg;
positioning a pivotal coupling member over the approximate center of the knee joint of the leg, the pivotal coupling member pivotally coupling a first and a second member of a reference tool;
pivoting the first member of the reference tool relative to the second member to position the first member over the approximate center of the femoral head;
pivoting the second member of the reference tool relative to the first member to position the second member over the approximate center of the ankle joint; and
imaging the knee joint to produce an image of the knee joint and at least a portion of the first and second members, the at least a portion of the first member indicating a mechanical axis of the leg in the image, and the at least a portion of the second member indicating a tibial axis of the leg in the image, and wherein the image includes the knee joint and excludes the femoral head and the ankle joint.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A method of imaging a body part includes locating a first, second and third anatomical reference area. The third anatomical reference area is disposed generally between the first and second anatomical reference areas. Furthermore, the method includes positioning a first member of a reference tool relative to the first anatomical reference area, positioning a second member of the reference tool relative to the second anatomical reference area, and a pivotal coupling member relative to the third anatomical reference area. The pivotal coupling member pivotally couples the first and second members of the reference tool. In addition, the method includes imaging a target area of the body part to produce an image. The image includes the target area of the body part and the first and second members. The first member indicates a first axis of the body part, and the second member indicates a second axis of the body part.
43 Citations
23 Claims
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1. A method of imaging a knee joint of a leg before surgery comprising:
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locating an approximate center of a femoral head of the leg; locating an approximate center of an ankle joint of the leg; locating an approximate center of a knee joint of the leg; positioning a pivotal coupling member over the approximate center of the knee joint of the leg, the pivotal coupling member pivotally coupling a first and a second member of a reference tool; pivoting the first member of the reference tool relative to the second member to position the first member over the approximate center of the femoral head; pivoting the second member of the reference tool relative to the first member to position the second member over the approximate center of the ankle joint; and imaging the knee joint to produce an image of the knee joint and at least a portion of the first and second members, the at least a portion of the first member indicating a mechanical axis of the leg in the image, and the at least a portion of the second member indicating a tibial axis of the leg in the image, and wherein the image includes the knee joint and excludes the femoral head and the ankle joint. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13)
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14. A method of imaging a knee joint of a leg before surgery comprising:
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positioning a reference tool detectable by imaging over a knee joint of a leg of a patient; positioning a pivotal coupling member of the reference tool about a center of the knee joint; pivoting a first member of the reference tool about the pivotal coupling member relative to a second member to position a distal end of the first member over a center of a femoral head of the leg; pivoting the second member of the reference tool about the pivotal coupling member relative to the first member to position the second member over a center of an ankle joint of the leg; obtaining an image of the knee joint with a portion of the reference tool, wherein the image includes the knee joint and excludes the femoral head and the ankle joint; and determining a mechanical axis of the leg from the image. - View Dependent Claims (15, 16, 17, 18, 19)
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20. A method of imaging a knee joint of a leg before surgery comprising:
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determining a center of a femoral head of a leg of a patient; determining a center of the ankle joint of the leg; determining a center of the knee joint of the leg; positioning a pivotal coupling member of a reference tool about the center of the knee joint, the pivotal coupling member pivotally coupling a first member and a second member of the reference tool; pivoting the first member relative to the second member to position a distal end of the first member over the center of the femoral head and to position a distal end of the second member over the center of the ankle joint; obtaining an image of the knee joint showing the pivotal coupling member and at least portions of the first and second members extending from the pivotal coupling member; determining a mechanical axis of the leg from the image of first member; and determining a tibial axis from the image of the second member. - View Dependent Claims (21, 22, 23)
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Specification