Thin film intrauterine device

Abstract

Contraceptive intrauterine devices made of thin film shape memory alloy materials. The devices are formed in three-dimensional shapes which contact uterus tissue of a human or other mammal to prevent conception. In certain embodiments, structural features such as tails, fenestrations, ridges or grooves are formed on the devices to enhance the contraceptive effect.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO PRIOR APPLICATION [0001] This application claims the benefit under 35 USC §119(e) of U.S. provisional application serial No. 60 / 402,418 filed Aug. 8, 2002 and is a divisional of U.S. application Ser. No. 10 / 638,282 filed Aug. 7, 2003.BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION [0002] 1.0 Field of Invention [0003] This invention relates to contraceptive intrauterine devices (IUDs) and methods of preventing conception. [0004] 2.0 Description of the Related Art [0005] Reproductive medicine is lagging in contraception technologies at a time when the world population is about to include the largest proportion of people of reproductive age ever. This invention introduces Nitinol thin film, a recent major advancement in material science and micro-electro-mechanic technology, to help resolve longstanding limitations in existing contraceptive intrauterine devices. [0006] Intrauterine contraceptive devices (IUDs) are objects inserted into the uterus to prevent conception. Introducing an ob...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

"The invention is a new and improved reversible contraceptive device for humans and other mammals that is smaller, safer, less intrusive, easier to insert and remove, more comfortable, and less expensive to manufacture than currently available IUDs. The device is made from thin-film, shape memory alloy materials that exhibit superplasticity and shape memory at the internal body temperatures of humans and other mammals."

Problems solved by technology

The required manual placement of the IUD in the insertion tube is disadvantageous because it is cumbersome, time consuming, and increases the possibilities of compromising the sterile field.

Moreover, where the IUD must be positioned by human manipulation, there exists a hazard of erroneous placement that could reduce contraceptive effectiveness and may be a source of injury to the patient.

Such a method, however, is undesirable for an IUD having a “T” configuration since the arms would be drawn upwards.

Attempts have been made to reduce the size of convention solid IUDs to allow use by younger women, but reducing size and surface area result in a less effective contraceptive and an increased rate of expulsion.

The challenges in adapting these devices for use by nulliparous women include reducing size to reduce trauma and adverse reactions, while maintaining a large enough inert or medicated surface area to maximize effectiveness and a size sufficient to resist expulsion.

These problems have limited the use of existing IUDs, especially in younger women.

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