Bioresorbable Knit Hernia Repair with Protruding Barbs
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing bioresorbable prosthetic knits for hernia repair lack sufficient mechanical strength and elasticity, particularly in the early stages of healing, and often require suturing which can cause tension and discomfort for patients.
Innovation Solution
A bioresorbable prosthetic porous knit with outwardly protruding barbs is developed using a warp knitting machine with four guide-bars, featuring double-threaded yarns and hot-melt monofilaments, providing mechanical strength and elasticity in all directions without the need for suturing.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If bioresorbable yarns are used to create a prosthesis that disappears after healing, then permanent foreign material is avoided, but mechanical strength is insufficient during the critical healing period
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses a composite structure combining bioresorbable yarns (for temporary reinforcement) with non-bioresorbable barbs (for permanent anchoring). The bioresorbable yarns provide mechanical strength during the critical 5-month healing period, while the non-bioresorbable barbs remain permanently embedded in the abdominal wall to maintain anchoring strength after the yarns degrade, thus resolving the contradiction between needing strength during healing and avoiding permanent foreign material.
Solution Approach 2:
The prosthesis is segmented into two functional components: bioresorbable yarns that provide temporary structural support during healing, and non-bioresorbable barbs that provide permanent anchoring. This segmentation allows each component to fulfill its specific function at different time periods, with the yarns degrading after 5 months while the barbs remain to maintain the repair.
2Reliability
If traditional suturing is used to anchor the prosthesis, then secure attachment is achieved, but surgical time increases and tissue tension occurs
Solution Approach 1:
The barbs are designed to self-anchor in the abdominal wall through their geometric shape and material properties, eliminating the need for surgical suturing. The barbs protrude from the prosthesis and embed themselves directly into the tissue, providing secure attachment without requiring additional surgical steps, thus reducing surgical time while maintaining anchoring security.
3Strength
If the prosthesis is made rigid to provide early support during healing, then mechanical strength is improved, but elasticity and adaptability to multidirectional stresses are reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The prosthesis exhibits local quality variations through its knit structure, where the arrangement of yarns and barbs creates different mechanical properties in different regions and directions. The knit fabric provides elasticity in all directions to accommodate multidirectional stresses, while the embedded barbs provide localized reinforcement for anchoring, thus achieving both early support strength and adaptability simultaneously.
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 knit maintains mechanical strength comparable to non-bioresorbable prosthetics after 5 months, ensuring effective reinforcement and comfort by adapting to multidirectional stresses, while fully biodegrading without residual foreign material.
Implementation Method 1
Guide-bar B4 is threaded with a hot-melt monofilament yarn of bioresorbable biocompatible material, the knitting pattern followed by guide-bar B4 making stitches generating loops protruding outwards from said one side of said knit
Data Source
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AI summary
The present invention relates to a bioresorbable prosthetic porous knit for abdominal wall reinforcement comprising an arrangement of yarns of bioresorbable material defining at least two sides of the knit, the knit including barbs protruding outwards from one of the two sides, wherein the knit is configured to display a Force max at T20ws ranging from about 300 to about 600 N.