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US 12,708,474 B2Granted
Torque-limiting devices, systems, and methods
AssigneePro-Dex, Inc.
InventorsAlexander M. Pfotenhauer, Manouchehr Goharlaee
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
Various torque-limiting surgical driver devices, systems, and methods are disclosed. The surgical driver can include a body, a motor that is configured to rotate a drill bit engaged with the surgical driver, and a processor configured to control operation of the surgical driver. The surgical driver can have torque-limiting functionality, such as by monitoring the amount of torque applied to a drill bit and reducing or stopping rotation of the drill bit when certain torque-limiting criteria are met.
Claims20
A torque-limiting surgical device comprising:
- a body configured to be grasped by a user;
- a motor positioned in the body;
- a drive head configured to be rotated by the motor and to drive a screw or drill bit;
- and
- a processor positioned in the body;
- wherein, under the control of the processor, the torque-limiting surgical device is configured to:
- drive the screw or drill bit into a bone, the bone comprising a first cortical portion, a second cortical portion, and a cancellous portion between said first and second cortical portions;
- determine torque applied to the screw or drill bit as the screw or drill bit is being driven into the bone;
- determine that the screw or drill bit has drilled through the first cortical portion of the bone;
- and
- determine whether the screw or drill bit transitioned from the cancellous portion of the bone to the second cortical portion of the bone at least partly by comparing a difference between a pair of consecutive torque values to a first threshold, wherein said first threshold is a percentage of an average of a plurality of torque values measured prior to said pair of consecutive torque values.
8 more elements
A torque-limiting surgical device comprising:
- a body configured to be grasped by a user;
- a motor positioned in the body;
- a drive head configured to be rotated by the motor and to drive a screw or drill bit;
- and
- a processor positioned in the body;
- wherein, under the control of the processor, the torque-limiting surgical device is configured to:
- drive the screw or drill bit into a bone, the bone comprising a first cortical portion, a second cortical portion, and a cancellous portion between said first and second cortical portions;
- determine torque applied to the screw or drill bit as the screw or drill bit is being driven into the bone;
- determine that the screw or drill bit has drilled through the first cortical portion of the bone;
- and
- determine a location of the screw or drill bit with respect to an exit point of the second cortical portion of the bone at least partly by:
- comparing a current torque value to a first threshold;
- and
- responsive to determining that said current torque value is greater than or equal to said first threshold, determining a deviation between said current torque value and a maximum measured torque value and comparing said deviation to a second threshold, said maximum measured torque value being a maximum of at least a plurality of torque values measured prior to said current torque value, wherein said second threshold is different than said first threshold.
11 more elements
A torque-limiting surgical device comprising:
- a body configured to be grasped by a user;
- a motor positioned in the body;
- a drive head configured to be rotated by the motor and to drive a screw or drill bit;
- and
- a processor positioned in the body;
- wherein, under the control of the processor, the torque-limiting surgical device is configured to:
- drive the screw or drill bit into a bone, the bone comprising a first cortical portion, a second cortical portion, and a cancellous portion between said first and second cortical portions;
- determine torque applied to the screw or drill bit as the screw or drill bit is being driven into the bone;
- determine that the screw or drill bit has drilled through the first cortical portion of the bone;
- determine whether the screw or drill bit transitioned from the cancellous portion of the bone to the second cortical portion of the bone;
- and
- determine a location of the screw or drill bit with respect to an exit point of the second cortical portion of the bone at least partly by:
- determining whether the drill bit is drilling in the second cortical portion of the bone;
- determining whether a current torque value is within a pre-determined threshold of a maximum measured torque value.
11 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.