Surgical guiding tools and systems and methods of manufacturing surgical guiding tools

Abstract

The present application relates to surgical guiding tools that may be used for guiding a surgical instrument during bone surgery. A surgical guiding tool may include a body including one or more clamps configured to attach the surgical guiding tool to one or more portions of the bone, wherein a first clamp of the one or more clamps includes a snap-fit portion including a flexible structure for increasing a clamping force of the first clamp and allowing ease of removal of the surgical guiding tool from the bone. The surgical guiding tool may further include at least one aperture for guiding a surgical instrument. The present application further provides methods for manufacturing surgical guiding tools and uses of the tools for placement onto a bone.

1 . A surgical guiding tool for a bone comprising:
 a body including:
 one or more clamps configured to attach the surgical guiding tool to one or more portions of the bone, wherein a first clamp of the one or more clamps includes a snap-fit portion including a flexible structure for increasing a clamping force of the first clamp and allowing ease of removal of the surgical guiding tool from the bone, wherein the flexible structure of the snap-fit portion includes material having a thickness that is between ½ and ⅕ of the average thickness of the remainder of the body; and 
 at least one aperture for guiding a surgical instrument. 
   
     
     
         2 . (canceled) 
     
     
         3 . The surgical guiding tool of  claim 1 , wherein the flexible structure of the snap-fit portion includes at least one chain connected between a first portion of the first clamp and a second portion of the first clamp. 
     
     
         4 . The surgical guiding tool of  claim 3 , wherein the at least one chain includes at least one cylinder adding rigidity to the at least one chain. 
     
     
         5 . The surgical guiding tool of  claim 1 , wherein the flexible structure of the snap-fit portion includes a honeycomb structure including a plurality of holes that add flexibility and rigidity to the flexible structure. 
     
     
         6 . The surgical guiding tool of  claim 1 , wherein the body further includes a first portion configured to attach the surgical guiding tool to one or more osteophytes on the bone. 
     
     
         7 . The surgical guiding tool of  claim 6 , wherein the bone is one of a shoulder or a femur. 
     
     
         8 . The surgical guiding tool of  claim 6 , wherein the first portion includes a flexible snap-fit portion for increasing a clamping force of the first portion to the bone and allowing ease of removal of the surgical guiding tool from the bone. 
     
     
         9 . The surgical guiding tool of  claim 1 , wherein the bone is one of a shoulder or a femur. 
     
     
         10 . The surgical guiding tool of  claim 9 , wherein the bone is a femur and the one or more portions of the bone that the one or more clamps are configured to attach the surgical guiding tool to include at least one condyle of the distal end of the femur. 
     
     
         11 . The surgical guiding tool of  claim 1 , wherein the flexible structure includes a flexible material. 
     
     
         12 . A method of manufacturing a surgical guiding tool, the method comprising:
 designing the surgical guiding tool to create a surgical guiding tool design, wherein the surgical tool design includes body including:
 one or more clamps configured to attach the surgical guiding tool to one or more portions of a bone, wherein a first clamp of the one or more clamps includes a snap-fit portion including a flexible structure for increasing a clamping force of the first clamp and allowing ease of removal of the surgical guiding tool from the bone; and 
 at least one aperture for guiding a surgical instrument; and 
   manufacturing the surgical guiding tool based on the surgical guiding tool design.   
     
     
         13 . The surgical guiding tool of  claim 12 , further comprising identifying the one or more portions of the bone as regions that the surgical guiding tool may attach to in order to limit rotational and translational movement of the surgical guiding tool. 
     
     
         14 . The surgical guiding tool of  claim 13 , wherein the bone is one of a shoulder or a femur. 
     
     
         15 . The surgical guiding tool of  claim 14 , wherein the bone is a femur and the body further includes a first portion configured to attach the surgical guiding tool to one or more osteophytes on the femur. 
     
     
         16 . The surgical guiding tool of  claim 14 , wherein the bone is a femur and the one or more portions of the bone that the one or more clamps are configured to attach the surgical guiding tool to include one or more condyle of the distal end of the femur. 
     
     
         17 . A femoral surgical guiding tool for a distal end of a femur, comprising:
 a body including:
 an anterior portion configured to attach the surgical guiding tool to one or more osteophytes on an anterior region of the femur; 
 one or more clamps configured to attach the surgical guiding tool to one or more condyles of the femur; and 
 at least one aperture for guiding a surgical instrument. 
   
     
     
         18 . The femoral surgical guiding tool of  claim 17 , wherein a first clamp of the one or more clamps includes an undercut portion that is configured to hook on to a first condyle of the one or more condyles. 
     
     
         19 . The femoral surgical guiding tool of  claim 17 , wherein a first clamp of the one or more clamps includes a snap-fit portion including a flexible structure configured to allow ease of removal of the surgical guiding tool from the femur. 
     
     
         20 . The femoral surgical guiding tool of  claim 19 , wherein the flexible structure is configured to increase a clamping force of the first clamp.