ACL Reconstruction Surgery Tool

Unmet Need
For successful anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) reconstruction, accurate placement of the femoral tunnel is crucial for successful surgery. The torn ligament has to be removed so that the surgeon can see the original ligament attachment sites on the bone, known as the footprints. At these footprints, tunnels are then drilled into the femur and tibia to make anchor points for the graft. The placement of the tunnels is critical for ACL reconstruction; however, the femoral tunnel is particularly difficult to place accurately. Out of approximately 400,000 ACL reconstructions in the United States each year, approximately 60,000 ACL reconstruction surgeries fail due to incorrect placement of the femoral tunnel which results in an additional 43,200 procedures to revise failed ACL reconstructions. With current techniques and tools for ACL tunnel placements, it is difficult for surgeons to reproducibly create anatomical femoral tunnel placements. Thus, there is need for a drill guide which allows for more accurate femoral tunnel placement.
 
Technology Overview
Johns Hopkins researchers have designed a technology to allow for accurate and repeatable femoral tunnel drilling which improves visualization of the surgical site and optimizes guide pin drilling. The technology is a drill guide with 5 members: a center rail, a side rail, an anteromedial slider, a femoral slider, and an adjustable center pin which allows for alignment of the drill to the drilling site. Two sliders allow for adjustable movement over arced rails. One of the sliders allows for a femoral tap to pass through. The other slider allows for a drill to pass through. The body of the drill guide comprises a hole for the passing of an arthroscope to view the inside of the joint. The arced rails cover a portion of a 3D sphere and have equal radii to allow for isocentricity.

Stage of Development
Prototypes have been developed. Currently researchers are working on developing the final form of the device for usability testing and biocompatibility testing.
 
Publications
N/A.
 

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