Artificial Bone Casing for Implantable Devices
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional implantable devices face challenges in miniaturization due to skin bulging and noise issues caused by elongated cables, and they often lead to complications like skin fistulas and unsightly appearances when implanted in the human body, particularly the head.
Innovation Solution
The use of an artificial bone casing designed to match the shape of the skull or other bones, which serves as both a structural filler and a housing for the implantable device's electronic circuit, reducing cable length and minimizing skin bulging while providing a secure and cosmetically acceptable implantation site.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If conventional implantable devices are implanted subcutaneously in the precordia or abdomen, then the device can be implanted avoiding bones and body tissues, but the analog cable connecting electrodes and the device becomes elongated and enlarged causing noise
Solution Approach 1:
The patent transitions from subcutaneous implantation to intracranial implantation, changing the spatial dimension of device placement. By embedding the device directly into the skull bone structure, the cable length between electrodes and device is dramatically reduced, eliminating noise issues associated with elongated cables while maintaining reliable signal quality
2Reliability
If the implantable device is implanted in the head to reduce cable length, then noise is reduced, but skin bulging or depression occurs at the implantation site
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges the implantable device housing with the artificial bone structure, combining two separate components into a unified integration. The device is embedded within the skull bone matrix, making the bone itself part of the device housing, thereby eliminating skin bulging while maintaining signal quality
Solution Approach 2:
The skull bone serves multiple functions: it provides structural support for the cranioplasty, houses the implantable device, and maintains external skin surface smoothness. This multi-functionality resolves the contradiction by making the bone structure serve both cosmetic and functional purposes
3Ease of manufacture
If the implantable device is exposed to outside to simplify casing structure, then manufacturing is simplified, but appearance is degraded and infection risk increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies nested doll principle by placing the implantable device housing within the skull bone structure. The bone acts as an outer protective layer enclosing the device, providing hermetic sealing against infection while maintaining a simplified device casing design for ease of manufacture
Data Source
AI summary
To allow an implantable device including an electronic circuit to be implanted in the head in a more preferable manner in terms of appearance and safely. This implantable device is used for a brain-machine interface or the like. A casing of an implantable device configured to be implanted in a human head has an outer convexity surface matching an external shape of a resected skull related to at least a craniotomy site of the artificial bone designed in accordance with a skull shape of each person in order to fill the craniotomy site. That is, the outer convexity surface of the artificial bone is provided with two functions: the original function of filling the craniotomy site as the artificial bone and a function of serving as the casing of the implantable device.