Orthopaedic Surgical Screwdrivers
05 May 2016The Medical AMRC has successfully completed a commission from sports injury, trauma and orthopaedic products specialist Harvard Healthcare to design and develop a range of innovative orthopaedic screwdrivers for use in operating theatres.
The screwdrivers had to retain screws securely until they were anchored in place, offering an easy to use alternative for surgeons who currently employ a variety of devices to retain screws, which tend to be overly complex, difficult to use and hard to manufacture.
The initial brief was to develop a range with interchangeable shafts for fixing 1.5, 2.5 and 3.5 mm screws with hexagonal heads. Practical and theoretical studies resulted in a decision to develop a separate design to enhance the capabilities of the 1.5mm device in order to achieve the torque specified in the British BS 3531-5.1-1997 standard covering devices used to tighten orthopaedic screws.