Absorbable Polyhedron Lattice Implants for Tissue Regeneration
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current breast implants lack the ability to regenerate tissue with a specific appearance and feel similar to natural breast tissue, and they do not provide a soft, compressible, and recoverable option for breast reconstruction and augmentation, which are essential for patients seeking to avoid permanent foreign bodies and complications associated with traditional implants.
Innovation Solution
The development of absorbable implants comprising a framework of skeletal polyhedron unit cells, coils, or knitted mesh, which are porous, compressible, and designed to promote tissue ingrowth, allowing for the regeneration of soft tissue with properties similar to natural breast tissue, including elastic modulus and tactile sensation, using materials like poly-4-hydroxybutyrate and poly(butylene succinate) that degrade predictably in vivo.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If permanent breast implants are used, then breast volume and shape can be maintained, but complications such as capsular contraction, rupture, infection, and movement causing asymmetry occur
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs a biodegradable polymer scaffold that is designed to be temporary and absorbable. The scaffold provides structural support during the regeneration process and is gradually absorbed by the body over time, eliminating the need for permanent foreign bodies and associated complications like capsular contraction and rupture. This aligns with the principle of using disposable, biodegradable materials that complete their function and then dissolve.
Solution Approach 2:
The scaffold is designed to be discarded (absorbed) after serving its purpose. The biodegradable polymer structure is gradually degraded and absorbed by the body's metabolic processes, allowing the natural tissue to take over the function completely. This eliminates the long-term presence of foreign material and associated complications.
2Shape
If traditional permanent implants are used, then breast augmentation is achieved, but the implants feel hard and do not resemble natural breast tissue
Solution Approach 1:
The scaffold employs a porous lattice structure with controlled porosity (30-70% void volume) that allows tissue ingrowth and vascularization. This porous structure enables the implant to feel soft and natural by allowing the body's tissue to intermingle with the scaffold, creating a composite structure that mimics natural breast tissue texture and feel while maintaining the desired shape.
Solution Approach 2:
The final breast structure becomes a composite of the biodegradable polymer scaffold and the patient's own natural tissue. As the scaffold degrades and tissue ingrows, the resulting composite structure combines the structural support needed for shape with the soft, natural texture of biological tissue, eliminating the hard feeling of traditional silicone implants.
3Reliability
If absorbable implants with porous structure are used, then tissue ingrowth and natural feel are promoted, but the structural complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The scaffold is divided into repeating unit cells (tetrahedrons, octahedrons, or other polyhedrons) that can be systematically assembled to form the overall lattice structure. This segmentation allows for standardized manufacturing and simplifies the design process while maintaining the necessary porosity for tissue ingrowth. The modular approach reduces complexity compared to creating a completely custom porous structure.
Solution Approach 2:
The scaffold design allows for adjustment of key parameters including porosity (30-70%), strut thickness, unit cell size, and lattice density to optimize the balance between structural integrity and tissue ingrowth capability. By controlling these parameters, the complex porous structure can be tuned to achieve the desired tissue regeneration while maintaining manufacturability.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
These implants enable the regeneration of soft tissue with a natural feel and appearance, providing support until new tissue growth takes over, minimizing complications and offering a safer alternative to traditional permanent implants by promoting tissue ingrowth and maintaining the desired shape and sensation of the breast.
Implementation Method 1
using materials like poly-4-hydroxybutyrate and poly(butylene succinate) that degrade predictably in vivo
Implementation Method 2
designed to promote tissue ingrowth, allowing for the regeneration of soft tissue with properties similar to natural breast tissue
Data Source
AI summary
Absorbable implants can be used to create volume and shape in soft tissues with regenerated tissue. The implants comprise lattices formed from multiple unit cells. Unit cells can be coils or springs, skeletal polyhedrons, foams, or structures derived from mesh and fiber. The implants may be coated or filled with cells and tissues, and preferably with autologous fat graft. The implants are particularly suitable for use in plastic surgery procedures, for example, to regenerate or augment breast tissue following mastectomy or in mastopexy procedures, and can provide an alternative to the use of permanent breast implants in these procedures.