Patent ID: 9615834
Date: 2017-04-11
CPC Classifications: A61B

Claim:
1. A method of designing a surgical instrument matched to a bone of a particular patient, the method comprising: accessing, by a computer system, image data indicating surface features of the bone; evaluating, by the computer system, the image data indicating surface features of the bone to identify regions of the bone that have different amounts of contour; selecting, by the computer system, one or more regions from among the identified regions based on the amounts of contour present at the identified regions; defining, by the computer system, a mesh having a uniform pattern; and generating, by the computer system, a three-dimensional computer model of the surgical instrument that is matched to the bone of the particular patient, wherein the three-dimensional computer model includes portions corresponding to area contacts shaped to engage the bone at the selected regions of the bone, the area contacts being placed according to the uniform pattern of the mesh along the selected regions, and the three-dimensional computer model includes portions corresponding to recesses that are located adjacent the area contacts, the recesses being shaped to not engage the patient's anatomy.