Study on a mechatronic tool for drilling in the osteosynthesis of long bones: Tool/bone interaction, modeling and experiments

Among the few motorized procedures used in orthopaedic surgery, drilling is surely the most common. Current drilling tools do not include any means for the control of the penetration and only radiographic control and/or a surgeon's manual skill are used to arrest the penetration of the drill when the hole is completed. Late detection of bone/soft tissue breakthroughs can cause unnecessary damage to the patient. New mechatronic drills making use of cutting force information could be used to assist the surgeon during the intervention. The goal of the experimental study reported is to develop and validate experimentally a model for the description of breakthroughs during the penetration of long bones. Such a model can be used for real-time detection of breakthroughs and be included in a mechatronic drill. Experimental results of drilling trials on fresh animal long bones are presented.