Bone Plate Recessed Suture Eyelets for Soft Tissue Reattachment
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current bone plates do not facilitate the reattachment of soft tissue to its anatomical location after dissection during surgical procedures, leading to potential complications and prolonged recovery.
Innovation Solution
A bone plate with recessed suture eyelets along its distal edge allows for the passage of flexible strands to reattach soft tissue to the plate at the anatomical location where it was dissected, utilizing a metal body with polyaxial locking mechanisms for secure fixation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If bone plates are mounted on fractured bones using screws through apertures, then the bone plate provides rigid fixation and early return to motion, but the soft tissue cannot be reattached to its anatomical location after dissection
Solution Approach 1:
The bone plate is designed to perform multiple functions: it provides rigid fixation through screw apertures and simultaneously enables soft tissue reattachment through recessed eyelets. This multi-functional design allows a single device to address both bone fixation and soft tissue reconstruction needs without requiring separate implant components.
Solution Approach 2:
The plate structure is segmented into distinct functional zones: standard apertures for screw fixation and recessed eyelets for soft tissue attachment. This segmentation allows each feature to be optimized for its specific purpose while maintaining overall plate integrity and anatomical compatibility.
2Ease of operation
If soft tissue is dissected from the bone to seat the bone plate properly, then the bone plate can be properly positioned, but the soft tissue loses its anatomical attachment and requires reattachment
Solution Approach 1:
The recessed eyelets are pre-positioned on the bone plate at locations that correspond to the anatomical attachment sites of soft tissue. This preliminary positioning allows the soft tissue to be reattached to its original anatomical location immediately after plate installation, eliminating the need for separate reattachment procedures and ensuring proper tissue positioning from the start.
3Reliability
If traditional bone plates without suture holes are used, then the plate structure remains simple, but surgeons cannot reattach soft tissue at the anatomical location
Solution Approach 1:
The bone plate incorporates recessed eyelets at specific local positions along its length, rather than uniformly modifying the entire plate structure. This localized modification provides soft tissue reattachment capability only where anatomically necessary, maintaining the simplicity of the plate design in regions where it is not needed while adding functionality where required.
Data Source
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AI summary
A bone plate configured to accommodate flexible strands (flexible loops) attached to soft tissue to be attached to bone. The bone plate has a plurality of recessed eyelets on the distal edge of the plate, to allow the user (surgeon) to pass a flexible strand through the recessed eyelets and reattach the soft tissue to the plate at the anatomical location where the tissue was dissected. The recessed eyelets may have various shapes, forms and configurations and may be provided on or within a surface of the bone plate in any number, depending on the characteristics of the fractured bone or bone segments, or of the plate design. The eyelets preferably receive a flexible strand for fixation of soft tissue to the bone plate.