Bone cutting processes and removal behaviors in orthopedic surgery with an ultrasonic orthopedic scalpel

Bone cutting is a common and important procedure in surgery. As a type of orthopedic instrument, ultrasonic orthopedic scalpels (UOSs) have been widely used due to their safety and convenience. Therefore, it is very important to have a deep understanding of the cutting process and the bone removal behavior of a UOS, to improve cutter design and complement the basic theory of the bone-cutting mechanism. However, few studies have focused on the characteristics of ultrasonic cutting. In this work, based on bone structure, the bone-cutting processes of a UOS were defined and the bone removal behavior in ultrasonic bone cutting was studied. In this study, it was believed that a direction of ultrasonic vibration different from that of the lamellar arrangement and collagen fibers would lead to different cutting characteristics. Based on this, the cutting modes were divided into four typical types. After examining and analyzing the crack propagation and chip formation of compact bone for the four cutting modes, the removal behaviors of ultrasonic bone cutting were defined. At the same time, the surface morphology indicated that there were significant differences in the surface damage for different cutting modes, which supported the idea that the bone removal behaviors were different for different modes. In addition, the force signals were analyzed and the results showed that there were differences in the cutting forces for different cutting modes. The static and dynamic components of the cutting forces were also analyzed. The study demonstrated the correlation between bone removal and the microscopic and submicroscopic structure of bone in ultrasonic cutting. These conclusions provided guidelines for analyzing bone tissue injuries caused by UOSs, improving the surgical process of bone cutting, optimizing the design of orthopedic instruments, and further complementing the basic theory of bone cutting.

Automated summary

Bone cutting is a vital surgical procedure, and ultrasonic orthopedic scalpels (UOSs) are commonly used due to their safety and convenience. However, studies on the characteristics of ultrasonic cutting are lacking. This study focused on defining the bone-cutting processes and bone removal behavior of UOSs based on the bone structure. The research identified different cutting characteristics and modes based on the direction of ultrasonic vibration and analyzed crack propagation, chip formation, surface damage, and cutting forces. The study provided valuable insights for analyzing bone tissue injuries, improving the surgical process, optimizing instrument design, and enhancing the basic theory of bone cutting.