Abstract:
A self-locking cable gripper includes a housing having a void which tapers between openings at the housing's top and bottom. A collapsible member having a central passage is adjacent the bottom opening. A pair of half jaws are between the collapsible member and the top opening, sized such that they move towards each other as the jaws are moved toward the bottom opening due to the taper of the void. The top and bottom openings, central passage, and inner surfaces of the jaws define a channel capable of receiving a cable passed through the housing from its bottom to its top opening. When the cable is pulled in the direction opposite that with which it was installed, the half jaws are drawn toward the housing's bottom opening such that their inner surfaces are urged towards each other, thereby locking the cable in place while it is under tension.
Abstract:
The invention includes: a locating system (28); a computer (32), interfaced to the locating system (28) and interpreting the positions of tracked objects in a generic computer model of a patient's hip geometry; a software module, executable on the computer, which defines the patient's pelvic plane (164) without reference to previously obtained radiological data, by locating at least three pelvic landmarks; and a pelvic tracking marker (60), fixable to the pelvic bone and trackable by the locating system (28), to track in real time the orientation of the defined pelvic plane. Preferably, the system also includes a femoral tracking marker (79), securely attachable to a femur of the patient by a non-penetrating ligature (72) and trackable by the locating system to detect changes in leg length and femoral offset.