Abstract: In a surgical method for resecting a bone during joint arthroplasty, an anchoring structure is fixed to a reference, such as a bone, and an articulating linkage is attached to the anchoring structure. A resection guide is fixed to the articulating linkage and then moved into a desired position and orientation. The articulating linkage is then locked to fix and position and orientation of the resection guide. The bone is then resected. Additional resections can be performed by changing the resection guide, unlocking the articulating linkage, positioning and orienting the resection guide into a different position, locking the articulating linkage and then performing the second resection. Computer navigation trackers can be used to accurately set the position and orientation of the resection guides.

Abstract: A surgical instrument system includes a cutting instrument, an anchoring structure, a guide structure and an articulating linkage. The anchoring structure can be fixed to a reference or benchmark, such as a location on the patient's bone. The articulating linkage connects the anchoring structure to the guide structure and includes a plurality of lockage ball joints arranged in series. Each ball joint provides for freedom of movement about three axes of rotation. The articulating linkage may include other structures allowing for additional rotational and translational degrees of freedom of movement for the guide structure with respect to the reference or benchmark. The system is useful in positioning, aligning and orienting a cutting block in joint arthroplasty, and may be useful in conjunction with computer assisted surgery. The system may also include computer navigation trackers for use in such computer assisted surgery.