Bone drilling is an essential and technically demanding procedure in many forms of surgery. The thermal characteristics in the drilling process directly affect thermal damage to the bone and postoperative recovery. In this study, a comprehensive experimental investigation was conducted to understand the thermal characteristics during cortical bone drilling using a bone cutting system coupled with a state-of-the-art infrared thermography and a dynamometer. The time-series temperature distributions, temperature history at different locations, and quasi-three-dimensional maximum temperature distributions were established and analyzed. The results show that the chisel edge, cutting lips, and margin are the main heat sources during bone drilling. The maximum temperature was generated by the cutting lip. Drilling in three feeding directions was performed to investigate the bone anisotropy. However, no sign of anisotropy on the temperature distribution was observed. But the maximum temperature and overheat duration exhibited a significant variation because of differences in the removal mechanism and bone density. Moreover, the effects of processing parameters on the thermal characteristics were analyzed in terms of the failure mechanism of bone. The drilling process duration may be the governing factor that can finally determine the thermal damage. This is the first study to reveal the thermal characteristics in full detail at the drill-exit with respect to the bone properties, processing parameters, drill-bit geometries, and inclined drilling. These results provide a fundamental understanding of the thermal characteristics in bone drilling and subsequently contribute to the formulation of various strategies for reducing the thermal damage to the bone.

在许多形式的外科手术中，骨钻是必不可少的，技术要求很高的程序。钻孔过程中的热特性直接影响对骨骼的热损伤和术后恢复。在这项研究中，进行了全面的实验研究，以了解使用结合了最新技术的红外热成像仪和测功机的骨切割系统在皮质骨钻孔过程中的热特性。建立并分析了时间序列的温度分布，不同位置的温度历史以及准三维最大温度分布。结果表明，凿边，切削刃和边缘是骨钻孔过程中的主要热源。最高温度是由切割唇产生的。在三个进给方向上进行钻孔以研究骨骼的各向异性。但是，没有观察到温度分布的各向异性迹象。但是由于去除机理和骨密度的差异，最高温度和过热持续时间显示出显着变化。此外，根据骨骼的破坏机理分析了加工参数对热特性的影响。钻孔过程的持续时间可能是最终确定热损伤的控制因素。这是第一个全面揭示钻头出口处与骨骼特性，加工参数，钻头几何形状和倾斜钻孔有关的热特性的研究。