A novel drill bit design for reducing bone-chip morphology in orthopaedic bone drilling

Abstract

Bone drilling is necessary during orthopaedic surgery for internal fixation. The drilling through the bones is the same as the mechanical drilling that uses a surgical twisted drill bit. The design and geometry of drill-bit play a paramount role in producing bone debris of various shapes and sizes. These different bone chips are responsible for chip clogging and chip accumulation at drill sites, leading to a higher temperature, torque, and thrust force. This study compared three hollow drill bits with different diamond grit sizes with a conventional surgical twisted drill bit to observe the chip morphology. It was witnessed that the influence of diamond grit size plays a significant role in producing bone debris. Different sizes of bone chips were stimulated with various drill bits. Similar chip characteristics were observed in all types of bone debris with varying drill bits. The twisted drill bit produces thick spiral-shaped bone debris compared to the hollow drill bit. The fine diamond grits in the drill bit reduce the chip morphology of bone debris during bone drilling. Thus, the diamond-impregnated surgical tool is preferable to drilling burr than a surgical twisted drill bit for surgeons during orthopaedic surgery.