Surgical Saw Blade and Thermal Management System

A surgical saw blade thermal management system comprising:

• a surgical saw blade comprising:
• a cutting edge including a plurality of teeth substantially entirely formed of a first material having a first thermal conductivity,
• a proximal portion including a blade hub, and
• a body portion disposed between and connecting the cutting edge and the proximal portion and including a thermal transit core formed of a second material having a second thermal conductivity at least twice the first thermal conductivity and the core having at least two opposed longitudinally extending first core surfaces extending across a width of the core, and
• at least two longitudinally extending flanking members with each disposed over the longitudinally extending first core surfaces;
• and
• a blade mount in receipt of the blade hub and connected to a saw hand piece and including a heat sink.

A method of making a surgical saw blade comprising the steps of:

• forming layers of a blank sheet assembly, the layers including:
• a substantially planar first sheet of steel of a first thickness and having a first planar area,
• a substantially planar second sheet of steel having a second planar area substantially equal to the first planar area and having a second thickness substantially equal to the first thickness, and
• an intermediate layer disposed between the first sheet and the second sheet, the intermediate layer, including both steel incorporated into cutting edges and a second material having a thermal conductivity greater by at least a factor of two than the thermal conductivity incorporated into a thermal transit core in blades formed;
• fixing the first and second sheets to opposite sides of the intermediate layer to form the blank sheet assembly;
• cutting a plurality of saw blade blanks from the blank sheet assembly with each blank having a thermal transit core formed of the second material and a cutting edge formed of steel;
• forming a blade hub in a proximal end of the blade blanks;
• and
• forming cutting teeth on the cutting edge of the blade blanks.

A surgical saw system comprising:

• a powered hand piece;
• a blade mount connected to the powered hand piece;
• and
• a heat sink connected to the blade mount.