A hexapod robot external fixator for computer assisted fracture reduction and deformity correction

Abstract

Using hexapod robot kinematics, an external fixator adjustable in all six spatial degrees of freedom was developed. As usual with a robot system, bone movements can be accomplished with high precision. Contrary to conventional external fixators any three-dimensional movement is realisable without giving up stability or the necessity to change parts of the construction during the treatment. At first a manually controlled fixator with appropriate software was developed. Then electromotor elements were added, resulting in a "fracture reduction robot" and a fixator featuring load measurement capabilities was built. Finally the concept was extended into an "intelligent fixator" which will accomplish automatically controlled fracture and deformity treatment in the future.

Computer‐assisted distraction osteogenesis by Ilizarov's method

“…They reported a 9 • correction error in one case that was caused by misinterpretation of the radiographs. More recently, the authors have described a motorized version of their fixator (8), where the shape of the fixator was controlled by a computer driving linear motors on each strut. They alluded to surgical navigation being a possibility.…”

Telemanipulated Long Bone Fracture Reduction

“…We are going to address the problem of invasiveness in a different way, by trying to combine a noninvasive robot attachment with precise and well controlled bone manipulations in the future. A second very promising fracture reduction robot was developed by Seide et al (Seide et al, 2004) based on an external fixateur with a parallel kinematic. The fracture reduction is performed automatically by this robot based on a pre-planned trajectory.…”

“…Seide et al have been performing extensive research in developing a fracture reduction robotic system based on a parallel kinematic (a hexapod). Starting with purely manually actuated links (Seide & Wolter, 2000) where a software program computes the required link lengths, they have already performed successful clinical trials on patients with a completely automated actuated robotic system (Seide et al, 2004). Another important research group is the one headed by Leo Joskowicz from The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel.…”

A Simple and Novel Hybrid Robotic System for Robot-Assisted Femur Fracture Reduction

“…Therefore, more effort has been made on parallel robots for their high payload-toweight ratio, high stiffness and position accuracy. Seide et al developed a fracture reduction robotic system based on a hexapod external fixator [14,15]. Rogers et al developed a similar hexapod fixator and performed real experiment in seven patients [16].…”