Customizable Patient-Specific Cutting Guide for High Tibial Osteotomy

The paper is an interdisciplinary medical and engineering approach that aims to optimize the accuracy of the High Tibial Osteotomy surgical intervention. The axial deviations of the human inferior limb are presented in the first part of the paper. Without altering the shape of the bones, these deviations cause the wear of the knee’s articular cartilage by gonarthrosis. One of the most common and effective treatment modalities for eliminating axial deviations is High Tibial Osteotomy. Because the surgical procedure involves 3D spatial bone cutting, the accuracy of the procedure and thus the success of the operation and the recovery of the patient is dependent on the execution of these cuts. Within this paper, a specialized device is proposed that makes it possible to guide the surgical saw and to accurately perform the correction angles. In the last part of the paper, customization possibilities and fabrication of the main elements of the cutting device using Additive Manufacturing processes are presented.