Expandable Porous Apatite/Collagen Composite for Bone Defect Filling
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing bone repair materials, such as hydroxyapatite ceramics, are hard and brittle, making them difficult to handle and inadequate for filling bone defect portions with complex shapes and varying sizes, leading to potential insufficient filling.
Innovation Solution
A porous apatite/collagen composite that is freeze-dried in a compressed state, allowing it to expand upon water absorption, maintaining elasticity and biocompatibility, and suitable for use as a bone-regenerating material.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If hydroxyapatite ceramics are used for bone repair, then bone conduction and bonding capability are improved, but handling difficulty and brittleness increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses a composite material consisting of hydroxyapatite particles dispersed in a collagen matrix. This combination provides the bone conduction properties of hydroxyapatite while the collagen matrix provides flexibility and ease of handling, resolving the contradiction between reliability and ease of operation
Solution Approach 2:
The collagen matrix acts as a flexible medium that can be easily shaped and implanted, while containing the hydroxyapatite particles that provide bone conduction. This flexible structure eliminates the brittleness and handling difficulty of pure ceramic materials
2Ease of operation
If apatite/collagen composites with sponge-like elasticity are used, then ease of handling is improved, but filling capability for complex bone defects deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The composite material exhibits dynamic properties: it maintains a compressed sponge-like state for easy handling during implantation, then expands in situ within the bone defect to adapt to complex shapes. This dynamic transformation resolves the contradiction between ease of handling and filling capability
Solution Approach 2:
The material can be compressed into a compact form for implantation and then expand to fill the larger bone defect space, similar to a nested doll that expands from a small compact form to a larger structure, enabling both easy handling and adequate filling
3Strength
If bone defect portions are filled with rigid materials, then structural support is improved, but adaptability to complex shapes and sizes deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The material transitions from a compressed flexible state during implantation to an expanded state with structural support capability. This dynamic behavior allows the material to adapt to complex bone defect geometries while providing necessary structural support after expansion
Solution Approach 2:
The material undergoes parameter changes including volume expansion and structural reorganization after implantation. These parameter changes enable the material to transform from a compact implantable form to a structurally supportive form that adapts to complex bone defect shapes
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 expandable porous apatite/collagen composite can be easily implanted into bone defect areas with complex shapes, reducing surgical burden and ensuring adequate filling without the need for extensive shaping, while maintaining mechanical strength and osteoconduction properties.
Implementation Method 1
the porous body thus compressed can quickly return to a pre-compressed state by water absorption
Implementation Method 2
a porous apatite/collagen composite freeze-dried in a compressed state
Data Source
AI summary
A expandable porous body constituted by a compressed apatite/collagen composite, which expands by water absorption, and a method for producing an expandable, porous apatite/collagen composite, which expands by water absorption, comprising the steps of freezing a porous apatite/collagen composite impregnated with a liquid in a compressed state, and drying it.