Bone Cement Mould Mat with Diagonal Cavity Arrangement
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing mould mats for producing bone cement pellets are inefficient, leading to significant wastage and difficulty in extracting fully formed pellets due to large cavity spacing, messy application, and potential for incomplete filling before the cement sets, resulting in insufficient pellets for surgical use.
Innovation Solution
A mould mat with closely arranged, diagonally offset cavities on both sides, allowing for easier filling and extraction of pellets using a scraper or spreader device that minimizes wastage by ensuring all cement is used within the cavities, and facilitating smooth extraction with reduced residue.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If cavities are spaced far apart on the mould mat, then extraction of pellets is easier, but bone cement wastage increases due to incomplete filling
Solution Approach 1:
The mould mat is divided into multiple cavities of different sizes (small, medium, large) arranged in specific patterns. This segmentation allows optimized spacing for each cavity type, ensuring complete filling while maintaining extraction ease through the structured division of the mat surface.
Solution Approach 2:
The cavities are arranged in a diagonally offset pattern rather than simple rows and columns. This diagonal arrangement optimizes the two-dimensional space utilization, allowing cavities to be closer together in certain directions while maintaining adequate spacing for extraction, thereby reducing wastage without compromising operability.
2Ease of manufacture
If cavities are arranged in simple rows and columns, then manufacturing is simpler, but filling efficiency decreases and cement wastage increases
Solution Approach 1:
The cavities are arranged in asymmetric diagonal offset patterns rather than symmetric rows and columns. This asymmetric arrangement improves filling efficiency by optimizing the path of the scraper/spreader across the mat surface, allowing more complete utilization of the bone cement material while maintaining manufacturability.
Solution Approach 2:
The cavities are pre-positioned in optimal diagonal offset patterns during manufacturing. This preliminary arrangement ensures that when bone cement is applied with a scraper or spreader, the material naturally flows into all cavities efficiently, maximizing filling efficiency before the actual pelleting process begins.
3Manufacturing precision
If a small mixing spatula is used to fill cavities, then control during filling is improved, but the process becomes time-consuming and may exceed cement setting time
Solution Approach 1:
The invention extracts the filling function from manual spatula work and implements it through a dedicated scraper or spreader device. This specialized tool is designed to efficiently distribute bone cement across the mould mat surface, dramatically reducing filling time while maintaining precision through its optimized geometry and interaction with the cavity arrangement.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention changes the parameters of the filling tool from a small mixing spatula to a larger scraper or spreader device with specific dimensional characteristics. This parameter change allows the tool to cover multiple cavities simultaneously or in rapid sequence, reducing the total filling time to within the cement setting time while maintaining adequate filling control through the tool's design.
4Quantity of substance
If the mould mat surface area is large with many cavities, then pellet production quantity increases, but the proportion of empty surface increases leading to more wastage
Solution Approach 1:
The mould mat features locally optimized cavity arrangements where different regions may have different cavity sizes and spacing patterns. This local quality optimization ensures that each region of the mat is efficiently utilized, minimizing empty surface area and reducing wastage while maintaining high overall pellet production quantity through the combination of various cavity types.
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 solution significantly reduces bone cement wastage, ensures complete filling of cavities, and allows for efficient production of pellets with smooth edges, addressing the inefficiencies of prior mats by optimizing cavity arrangement and tool design.
Implementation Method 1
When the calcium sulphate hemi-hydrate powder is blended with an appropriate quantity of water or salt solution, the mixture hydrates to form a cohesive mass and sets with a mildly exothermic reaction to give calcium sulphate di-hydrate
Implementation Method 2
the mixture hydrates to form a cohesive mass and sets with a mildly exothermic reaction
Implementation Method 3
The paste hardens (i.e. fully sets) within 20 min to form the calcium phosphate cement, thereby allowing rapid closure of the wound. The hardening reaction, which forms nanocrystalline hydroxyapatite (HA) as the product, is isothermic and occurs at physiologic pH
Data Source
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AI summary
A mould mat containing cavities wherein the size, spacing and geometric arrangement of cavities is such that any straight line drawn along the full length of the mould mat parallel to an edge of the mould mat in at least one direction and within the arrangement of cavities on the mat will always intersect at least one cavity.