Device for measuring drill bit displacement
AssigneeDePuy Synthes Products, Inc.
InventorAdrian Baumgartner
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A measuring device 1 configured to receive a drill bit 3, and determine the relative displacement of the drill bit 3, is disclosed. The measuring device 1 is configured to be deployed proximate to the material to be drilled, reset, and subsequently determine the relative displacement of the drill bit 3. The measuring device 1 can be used in orthopaedic surgery procedures for determining the depth of a bore hole in bone.
Claims27
A measuring device configured to measure a depth of a bore hole in bone, the measuring device comprising:
- a housing defining a bore along an axial direction, the bore sized and configured to receive a drill bit;
- and
- a sensor supported by the housing and positioned along a path that extends in a radial direction, perpendicular to the axial direction, from a central axis of the bore such that the sensor is aligned with the bore along the radial direction,
- wherein the sensor is configured to sense, when the drill bit extends through the bore, displacement of the drill bit within the bore as the drill bit is creating the bore hole in the bone.
A method of measuring a depth of a bore hole in bone using a measuring device, the method comprising:
- (a) receiving a drill bit within a bore defined in a housing of the measuring device so as to position a sensor supported by the housing along a path that extends radially from a central axis of the drill bit at a location between opposed first and second ends of the drill bit, the opposed first and second ends spaced apart with respect to an axial direction that is perpendicular to the path;
- (b) drilling the bore hole into the bone and sensing a displacement of the drill bit relative to the sensor as the drill bit is creating the bore hole;
- and
- (c) determining the depth of the bore hole based on the displacement of the drill bit.
A system configured to measure a displacement of a drill bit, the system comprising:
- a drill bit;
- a housing defining a bore along an axial direction, the bore sized and configured to receive the drill bit;
- and
- a sensor supported by the housing and positioned along a path that extends in a radial direction, perpendicular to the axial direction, from a central axis of the bore such that the sensor is aligned with the bore along the radial direction,
- wherein the sensor is configured to sense, when the drill bit extends through the bore, displacement of the drill bit within the bore as the drill bit is creating the bore hole in the bone.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.