Adhesion Barrier Material Handling via Controlled Steaming and Drying
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Adhesion barriers like SEPRAFILM® are brittle and difficult to handle, making it challenging to deliver and assemble effectively during surgery, as they crack and flake easily, and require careful handling to avoid contact with unintended tissue surfaces.
Innovation Solution
Heating the adhesion barrier material in a warm moist environment, allowing it to dry until non-tacky, enables easier cutting, folding, or rolling for delivery through a trocar, and allows direct handling without papers, improving its integrity and reducing the risk of foreign bodies.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the adhesion barrier material is kept dry and stored in its package, then it maintains its sterile state and structural integrity, but it becomes brittle and difficult to handle, cracking and flaking easily
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies preliminary action by pre-moistening the adhesion barrier material in a controlled manner before surgical application. The material is exposed to moisture (e.g., through contact with sterile saline or humid environment) prior to being placed on tissue, which softens the polymer matrix and improves flexibility and handling characteristics while maintaining sterile integrity until the moment of application.
2Reliability
If the adhesion barrier material is handled with care and kept in its package, then it avoids contact with unintended tissue, but it becomes difficult to deliver through small incisions and trocars
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies dynamics by changing the physical state of the adhesion barrier material from a rigid, brittle dry state to a more flexible, pliable moist state. This state transformation enables the material to be folded, rolled, or shaped to fit through small incisions and trocars while maintaining its integrity and ability to adhere precisely to the intended tissue surface during application.
3Ease of operation
If the adhesion barrier material is made softer and more flexible through moisture exposure, then it becomes easier to handle and deliver, but it may increase the risk of contact with unintended tissue surfaces
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies preliminary action by performing the moisture exposure step before the material leaves the sterile field or before precise positioning is required. The material is pre-moistened in a controlled environment, then handled and positioned with precision instruments, and only contacted with tissue after the moisture treatment is complete. This timing sequence allows the material to be flexible enough for easy handling while minimizing the window of opportunity for unintended tissue contact.
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
The method enhances the handling and application of adhesion barriers, allowing for a continuous barrier formation between tissues and reducing the risk of retained foreign bodies by making the material less delicate and easier to manage during surgical procedures.
Implementation Method 1
SEPRAFILM® products hydrate to a gel within 24 48 hours following placement in the body
Implementation Method 2
by heating, and preferably steaming the adhesion barrier material in a warm moist environment
Implementation Method 3
allowing the material to dry until it is not tacky
Data Source
AI summary
A process for applying an adhesion barrier material to the tissue in a surgical site includes steaming the adhesion barrier material, preferably in a warm environment at a temperature of between about 140° F. (60° C.) and about 170° F. (77° C.); air drying the adhesion barrier material until the surface is not tacky; and applying the adhesion barrier material to tissue at a surgical site.