Bone Plate Cavity Design for Stress Relief
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Bone plates used for fixing bone fractures are prone to breakage under bending loads, particularly at regions with through holes, due to uneven stress distribution and mechanical loads, which can lead to deformation or failure.
Innovation Solution
A bone plate design featuring a cavity and depression on the non-bone-facing surface, combined with varying recesses and through holes, distributes bending loads uniformly and reduces stress peaks, enhancing flexibility and stability at critical regions.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If through holes are provided in the shaft portion for receiving bone anchors, then the bone plate can be fixed to the bone, but the bone plate becomes prone to breakage under bending loads at the through hole regions
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality by providing recesses at specific locations on the bone plate, particularly at regions with through holes that are subject to high bending loads. These recesses create localized stress relief zones without compromising the overall structural integrity. The recesses are strategically positioned to reduce stress concentrations at critical points while maintaining sufficient strength in other regions, thus resolving the contradiction between fixation reliability and bending strength.
2Strength
If the bone plate structure is strengthened to resist bending loads, then breakage risk is reduced, but stress peaks occur at through hole regions under excessive load
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies segmentation by dividing the bone plate structure into distinct regions with different geometric characteristics. The recesses create segmented zones that separate high-stress areas from low-stress areas, allowing the structure to better distribute and manage stress under bending loads. This segmentation prevents stress concentration from propagating through the entire plate, thereby reducing peak stresses at through hole regions while maintaining overall strength.
Data Source
AI summary
A bone plate includes a first surface which, when the bone plate is positioned over a bone, faces the bone, and a second surface opposing the first surface, the bone plate comprising an elongate shaft portion extending along a longitudinal axis of the bone plate and including a plurality of through holes extending therethrough from the first surface to the second surface to receive a bone anchor therethrough and a head portion extending from an end of the elongate shaft portion along a length smaller than a length of the elongate shaft portion, a width of the head between lateral walls connecting edges of the first and second surface being greater than a width of the shaft distance between the lateral walls, wherein the second surface includes a cavity extending between a first one of the plurality of through holes situated closest to the head portion and the head portion.