Orthopedic alignment guide

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-2019021877-A1
Application number	US-201715654641-A
Country	US
Kind code	A1
Filing date	Jul 19, 2017
Priority date	Jul 19, 2017
Publication date	Jan 24, 2019
Grant date	—

Abstract

Orthopedic guide, and methods of using the guide, for alignment of bone under fluoroscopic imaging. In an exemplary embodiment, the guide may include a radiopaque rod, a radiolucent carrier, and a radiopaque indicator held by the carrier. The rod and the indicator may be parallel to the same plane, and may form an angle between one another of less than 90 degrees when projected orthogonally onto the plane. The rod may be configured to be aligned with an axis defined by one or more bones of the leg, and the indicator aligned with a joint of the leg, in an anterior-posterior, fluoroscopic view of the leg. The angle formed between the rod and the indicator may correspond to an anatomic orientation of the axis and the joint relative to one another in a frontal plane of the leg.

First claim

We claim:

1 . A method of bone alignment under fluoroscopic imaging, the method comprising:
selecting a guide including a radiopaque axial member, a radiolucent carrier, and a radiopaque indicator held by the carrier, wherein the axial member and the indicator are parallel to the same plane and form an angle between one another of less than 90 degrees when projected orthogonally onto the plane, and wherein the carrier has a first side and a second side opposite one another; and aligning the axial member with an axis defined by one or more bones of a leg, and the indicator with a joint of the leg, in an anterior-posterior, fluoroscopic view of the leg; wherein the first side of the carrier faces the joint if the leg is a left leg, and the second side of the carrier faces the joint if the leg is a right leg.

2 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the axial member and the indicator form an angle between one another of 79 to 88 degrees when projected orthogonally onto the plane.

3 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the indicator is a central indicator, wherein the step of selecting a guide includes a step of selecting a guide having a pair of radiopaque offset indicators, and wherein the offset indicators are offset in opposite rotational directions from the central indicator when the central indicator and the offset indicators are projected orthogonally onto the plane.

4 . The method of claim 3 , wherein each of the offset indicators is offset by an integral number of degrees from the central indicator when the central indicator and the offset indicators are projected orthogonally onto the plane.

5 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the step of selecting a guide includes a step of selecting a guide having one or more radiopaque skew indicators held by the carrier, and wherein each skew indicator defines a long axis that is orthogonal to the plane.

6 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the step of selecting a guide includes a step of selecting a guide having the indicator substantially enclosed by the carrier.

7 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the step of selecting a guide includes a step of selecting a guide in which the first side and the second side of the carrier are parallel to the plane.

8 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the step of selecting a guide includes a step of selecting a guide having orientation indicia indicating that the second side of the carrier should face away from the joint when the guide is used for a left leg, and that the first side of the carrier should face away from the joint when the guide is used for a right leg.

9 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the step of aligning includes a step of moving pieces of a femur or tibia relative to one another.

10 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the joint is a knee joint, and wherein the knee joint is natural or at partially prosthetic.

11 . The method of claim 10 , wherein the step of aligning includes a step of aligning the indicator with a line defined by a femoral portion or a tibial portion of the knee joint in the anterior-posterior, fluoroscopic view of the leg.

12 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the axis is an anatomic axis defined by the femur or tibia of the leg, or is a mechanical axis defined by the femur and the tibia.

13 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising a step of selecting one of the first and second sides of the carrier to face the joint based on whether the leg is a left leg or a right leg, wherein the step of selecting one of the first and second sides is based on orientation indicia presented by the guide, and wherein the orientation indicia include a plurality of characters.

14 . A guide for bone alignment under fluoroscopic imaging, comprising:
a radiopaque rod; a radiolucent carrier having a first side and a second side opposite one another; and a radiopaque indicator held by the carrier; wherein the rod and the indicator are parallel to the same plane and form an angle between one another of less than 90 degrees when projected orthogonally onto the plane, wherein the rod is configured to be aligned with an axis defined by one or more bones of a leg, and the indicator aligned with a joint of the leg, in an anterior-posterior, fluoroscopic view of the leg, and wherein the guide is configured to be used alternatively for a left leg with the first side of the carrier facing the joint, and for a right leg with the second side of the carrier facing the joint.

15 . The guide of claim 14 , wherein the rod and the indicator form an angle between one another of 79 to 88 degrees when projected orthogonally onto the plane.

16 . The guide of claim 14 , wherein the guide comprises orientation indicia to indicate that the second side of the carrier should face away from the joint when the guide is used for a left leg, and that the first side of the carrier should face away from the joint when the guide is used for a right leg.

17 . The guide of claim 14 , wherein the indicator is a central indicator, wherein the guide further comprises a pair of radiopaque offset indicators, and wherein the offset indicators are offset in opposite rotational directions from the central indicator when the central indicator and the offset indicators are projected orthogonally onto the plane.

18 . The guide of claim 14 , wherein the indicator is substantially enclosed by the carrier.

19 . The guide of claim 14 , wherein the indicator is configured to be aligned with a knee joint.

20 . The guide of claim 14 , wherein the guide comprises one or more radiopaque skew indicators each elongated orthogonal to the plane.

Assignees

• Acumed Llc

Inventors

• Federspiel Joshua P
• Ananthan Bharadwaj
• Matityahu Amir M
• Vanvleet David W

Classifications

• A61F2/3609

  Femoral heads or necks; Connections of endoprosthetic heads or necks to endoprosthetic femoral shafts (A61F2/3601 takes precedence) · CPC title

• A61B17/8866

  for gripping or pushing bones, e.g. approximators (joint distractors A61B17/025) · CPC title

• A61B17/1703

  using imaging means, e.g. by X-rays · CPC title

• A61F2/4601 Primary

  for introducing bone substitute, for implanting bone graft implants or for compacting them in the bone cavity · CPC title

• A61B2090/3966

  Radiopaque markers visible in an X-ray image · CPC title