Tracked cartilage repair system

摘要

A system and method for repairing an area of defective tissue reduces the removal of healthy tissue at the margins of the defect. During excision of diseased or damaged tissue, the system tracks the movement and function of a tissue resection tool within a monitored surgical space. This movement is continuously recorded to create a three-dimensional set of data points representative of the excised volume of tissue. This data set is then communicated to a custom implant forming device which creates a custom implant sized to fit the void created by the excision. The system and method of the present disclosure allows a surgeon to exercise intraoperative control over the specific shape, volume and geometry of the excised area. Moreover, the surgeon may utilize a “freehand” resection method to excise only that tissue deemed to be diseased and/or damaged, because the custom-formed implant will accommodate an irregularly-shaped resection volume.

主权项

1. A method of repairing a tissue defect in an anatomical structure, the method comprising: monitoring removal of a portion of the anatomical structure to create a void having a first shape, the portion including the tissue defect; determining a second shape corresponding to the first shape of the void; after determining a second shape, providing an implant having the second shape for placement within the void, the second shape generally matching the first shape; implanting the implant into the void; and resurfacing a surface of the implant to a desired contour; wherein monitoring removal of a portion of the anatomical structure includes monitoring a plurality of movements of a resection tool having an operative end while the operative end resects tissue from the anatomical structure.