Cartilage indentor instrument
AssigneeSmith & Nephew, Inc.
InventorsKenneth W. Krause, Graham Smith
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
An instrument and technique for measuring the compressive properties of a body (e.g., articular cartilage) are disclosed. The instrument includes an elongated probe, a biasing assembly for applying a pre-determined pre-load to the body to establish a measurement reference at the predetermined pre-load, an actuator to move the elongated probe to apply a compressive force to the body, and a measurement device which measures displacement of the elongated probe relative to the measurement reference.
Claims27
An instrument for measuring the compressive properties of a body comprising:
- an elongated probe having a longitudinal axis and a distal end configured to contact the body;
- a biasing assembly, mechanically coupled to the elongated probe, for applying a constant pre-determined pre-load to the body to establish a measurement reference at the predetermined pre-load;
- an actuator for moving the distal end of the elongated probe along the longitudinal axis to apply a variable compressive force to the body, the actuator configured to apply the variable compressive force after the measurement reference has been established;
- and
- a measurement device, coupled to the elongated probe, for measuring displacement of the elongated probe along the longitudinal axis in response to the variable compressive force relative to the measurement reference.
A method of measuring the compressive properties of a body comprising:
- establishing a measurement reference by applying a constant pre-determined pre-load to the body with a biasing assembly;
- positioning a distal end of an elongated probe to contact the body;
- applying a variable compressive force to the body by moving the distal end of the elongated probe along a longitudinal axis of the elongated probe;
- and
- measuring displacement of the elongated probe along the longitudinal axis, relative to the measurement reference, in response to the variable compressive force applied to the body.
An instrument for measuring the compressive properties of a body comprising:
- an elongated probe having a longitudinal axis and a distal end configured to contact the body;
- a biasing assembly including a force actuator connected to a sheath surrounding the elongated probe, wherein the biasing assembly is mechanically coupled to the elongated probe and the force actuator is configured to apply a pre-determined pre-load to the body to establish a measurement reference at the predetermined pre-load;
- an actuator configured to reciprocate the distal end of the elongated probe along the longitudinal axis to apply a variable compressive force to the body through the distal end;
- and
- a measurement device, coupled to the elongated probe, for measuring displacements of the elongated probe along the longitudinal axis in response to the variable compressive forces relative to the measurement reference.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.