Bone-Anchored Arch Bar Fixation for Stable Jaw Fracture Repair

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Solution Overview

Problem

Existing intermaxillary fixation (IMF) technologies, such as circumdental wire ligatures and orthodontic adhesives, are time-consuming, uncomfortable, and risky, and existing bone screws lack stability along the dental arch, limiting their effectiveness in fracture immobilization and occlusion restoration.

Innovation Solution

A medical apparatus comprising a bar with lateral slots and hooks, secured to the mandible or maxilla using bone screws with compound heads, allowing for secure attachment to bone or prosthetic devices, and adjustable set screws for stabilization and fracture reduction.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Reliability

If circumdental wire ligatures are used to secure arch bars, then the arch bars can be attached to teeth, but the process is time-consuming and causes discomfort and potential dental injury

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveattachment securityVSAvoidplacement time and complexity

Core Design Contradiction:

ReliabilityVSEase of manufacture

Solution Approach 1:

The invention extracts the attachment function from the teeth by introducing bone-anchored implants that secure arch bars directly to the jawbone, eliminating the need for circumdental wire ligatures and their associated drawbacks of time-consuming placement and dental injury risk

Inventive Principle:

Principle #2Taking out (Extraction)

Solution Approach 2:

The invention introduces bone-anchored implants as an intermediary between the arch bar and the teeth/jaw, providing a secure attachment point that eliminates the need for direct tooth attachment methods like wire ligatures

Inventive Principle:

Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

2Productivity

If orthodontic adhesives are used to secure arch bars, then the attachment process is faster, but the adhesives require a clean, dry field that is difficult to maintain in trauma settings with blood loss

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveplacement speedVSAvoidadaptability to trauma conditions

Core Design Contradiction:

ProductivityVSAdaptability or versatility

Solution Approach 1:

The invention replaces the chemical bonding system (orthodontic adhesives) with a mechanical anchorage system (bone-anchored implants with threaded fixtures), which provides secure attachment independent of the presence of blood or moisture in the surgical field

Inventive Principle:

Principle #28Mechanics substitution (Replace mechanical system)

Solution Approach 2:

The invention changes the attachment mechanism from chemical adhesion to mechanical interlocking through threaded bone implants, fundamentally altering the parameters of attachment security and environmental tolerance to enable use in trauma settings

Inventive Principle:

Principle #35Parameter changes

3Ease of operation

If individual bone screws are used for IMF, then the placement is quick and comfortable, but they lack stability along the dental arch and cannot provide upper border stabilization

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveplacement comfort and speedVSAvoidarch stability

Core Design Contradiction:

Ease of operationVSStrength

Solution Approach 1:

The invention merges the advantages of bone screws (quick, comfortable placement) with the stability of arch bars by integrating threaded bone-anchored fixtures with arch bar structures, providing both ease of placement and arch stability through the combination of mechanical anchorage and arch bar geometry

Inventive Principle:

Principle #5Merging (Combining)

Solution Approach 2:

The invention creates a multi-functional system where bone-anchored arch bars serve multiple purposes: providing IMF, stabilizing the dental arch, offering upper border stabilization, and enabling various elastic configurations, thereby replacing multiple separate devices with a single universal solution

Inventive Principle:

Principle #6Universality (Multi-functionality)

4Stability of the object's composition

If multiple circumdental wire ligatures are placed along the dental arch, then stable fixation is achieved, but the process is time-consuming and requires significant discomfort and potential dental injury

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvefixation stabilityVSAvoidplacement time

Core Design Contradiction:

Stability of the object's compositionVSLoss of time

Solution Approach 1:

The invention extracts the need for multiple wire ligatures by using bone-anchored implants that provide stable fixation through mechanical interlocking with the jawbone, eliminating the time-consuming process of placing and securing multiple circumdental wires

Inventive Principle:

Principle #2Taking out (Extraction)

Solution Approach 2:

The invention applies local quality by placing bone-anchored implants at specific strategic locations along the dental arch where they provide maximum stabilization, rather than requiring multiple wire ligatures distributed along the entire arch

Inventive Principle:

Principle #3Local quality

Data Source

PatentUS20250213275A1Intermaxillary Fixation Device And Method Of Using Same

Publication Date: 2025.07.03 MARCUS JEFFREY R

AI summary

A medical apparatus having a bar, the bar having a slot extending laterally along the bar; and a plurality of hooks, wherein the bar is an arch bar that is configured to be attached to a mandible or a maxilla. Such medical apparatuses may also have a plurality of arch bar fasteners, wherein each arch bar fastener is a bone screw having a threaded shaft and a compound head, the compound head having a threaded bore configured to receive a set screw. The medical apparatus may be used in methods to fixate a maxillary or mandibulary arch, or to aid in reducing a fracture of the mandible or maxilla.