Ms. Geist is working on the system with Kenji Shimada, a professor of mechanical engineering at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, and the team is pursing a patent on the device, according to the report.
Ms. Geist and Professor Shimada based the design of the system off of a children’s tangle toy, resulting in a metal chain with S-shaped metal links, according to the report. The device also includes rotational encoders that track small movements of instruments inside the body.
The system includes computer simulations of the hip joint, which in later versions will be derived from information on CAT scans, MRIs or X-rays. Surgeons will be able to see multiple views of the hip, and the device will set off alarms in the form of red warning screens if an instrument is too close to nerves, arteries or veins, according to the report.
Ms. Geist and Professor Shimada envision the system to also be used as a training tool.
Testing has only been done with non-surgeon volunteers, and additional tests will be needed before the product is marketed.
Read the Bucknell report on the computer-aided hip arthroscopy system.
