Bone Tamp Shape-Memory Member for Cancellous Bone Channeling
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Solution Overview
Problem
Vertebral compression fractures, often caused by weakened cancellous bone due to conditions like osteoporosis, can lead to inadequate healing and spinal deformity, necessitating effective minimally invasive treatments to stabilize and strengthen the bone.
Innovation Solution
A bone tamp apparatus and method that creates passageways within bone tissue by deploying an elongated, shape-memory member that transitions from a linear to a non-linear configuration for insertion and back to linear for withdrawal, allowing for the interdigitation of bone filler material with cancellous bone.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Volume of moving object
If balloons are inflated to create cavities in cancellous bone (Kyphoplasty), then a cavity is formed for cement injection, but the natural bone structure is significantly altered and crushed
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts only the necessary action of creating space for cement injection without the harmful bone crushing. The elongated member is withdrawn after being deployed linearly, extracting cancellous bone material to create a passageway/channel that provides cement injection space while preserving the surrounding bone structure, unlike balloon inflation that crushes and alters the entire bone architecture.
Solution Approach 2:
The elongated member serves as an intermediary tool that temporarily occupies space during insertion, then is withdrawn to leave a controlled passageway. This intermediary approach creates the necessary injection channel without directly crushing bone, mediating between the need for cement injection and the preservation of natural bone structure.
2Ease of operation
If percutaneous vertebroplasty is performed by injecting bone filler material directly, then the procedure is simple and minimally invasive, but the filler material may not interdigitate effectively with the cancellous bone
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies preliminary action by deploying the elongated member in a linear configuration to create a controlled passageway or channel within the cancellous bone before cement injection. This pre-formed通道 provides a reliable pathway that ensures effective interdigitation of the bone filler material with the surrounding cancellous bone, while maintaining procedural simplicity through a single deployment and withdrawal motion.
3Ease of operation
If the elongated member is deployed in a non-linear configuration, then it can be inserted into the vertebra, but it occupies more space during insertion
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies dynamics by making the elongated member deformable between configurations. The member transitions from a non-linear configuration during insertion to a linear configuration during withdrawal, dynamically adapting its shape to optimize both insertion ease and space occupation. This dynamic transformation allows the device to be compact during insertion while providing adequate channel formation during withdrawal.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the geometric parameters of the elongated member by transforming it between non-linear and linear configurations. This parameter change allows the member to adopt different shapes depending on the operational phase: a non-linear shape for insertion that navigates tissue easily, and a linear shape for withdrawal that creates an effective passageway, thereby optimizing both insertion capability and space efficiency.
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 bone tamp effectively creates channels within the bone for stable filler material injection, enhancing bone support and reducing fracture risk while maintaining the natural bone structure, unlike methods like Kyphoplasty that alter bone structure.
Implementation Method 1
the elongated member is deformable from an original or as-made generally non-linear configuration into a modified or ready generally linear configuration for insertion of the elongated member into bone tissue
Data Source
AI summary
A bone tamp for creating channels within bone tissue. The bone tamp includes an elongated member that is deformable from a first generally non-linear configuration to a second generally linear configuration for insertion into bone tissue. As the elongated member is deployed into bone tissue, it transitions from the linear configuration into the non-linear configuration within the bone tissue. The elongated member is capable of being deformed back into the generally linear configuration for withdrawal from the bone tissue.