Cable-Locking Plate With Screw For Patella Fracture Compression
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Solution Overview
Problem
Traditional bone fracture immobilization techniques, such as screws, are ineffective for non-linear bones like the patella, as they compromise structural integrity and are difficult to apply, especially in compressing fractures.
Innovation Solution
A cable-locking plate with screw system that uses a tensioned cable to create compression across the fracture, guided by cable channels to avoid nerve and blood vessel compression, allowing for flexible bridging and maintaining tension through screw placement.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If traditional screws are used to immobilize bone fractures, then the bone can be stabilized, but the structural integrity of non-linear bones like the patella is compromised and the device is difficult to apply
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses a flexible cable instead of rigid screws to accommodate the non-linear geometry of bones like the patella. The cable can be routed around curves and irregular surfaces, providing stabilization without compromising bone integrity. The cable passes through the bone and is secured with locking mechanisms, allowing adaptation to various bone shapes while maintaining fracture stability.
2Reliability
If traditional screws are used to compress fractures, then the bone fragments can be held together, but the application is difficult in challenging anatomical locations like the patella
Solution Approach 1:
The flexible cable system allows surgeons to easily route the cable around the patella and other challenging anatomical locations. The cable can be pulled through drilled holes and tensioned to compress fracture fragments, providing effective compression without the difficulty of positioning rigid screws in curved or irregular bone surfaces.
3Strength
If a cable is used to create compression across the fracture, then bone integrity is preserved, but maintaining tension after surgery becomes difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The cable system incorporates self-locking mechanisms that automatically maintain tension after surgery. Once the cable is tensioned to compress the fracture, the locking mechanism prevents relaxation, allowing the cable to maintain compression force without requiring continuous external adjustment. This enables the system to serve itself by maintaining the necessary tension for bone healing.
4Reliability
If compression is applied around the bone surface, then the fracture can be stabilized, but nerve and blood vessels along the bone surface are compressed
Solution Approach 1:
The cable system applies compression internally through drilled holes in the bone rather than externally around the bone surface. By segmenting the compression force and applying it through internal channels, the system stabilizes the fracture without compressing surrounding soft tissues, nerves, or blood vessels that would be affected by external circumferential compression.
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
Effectively compresses bone fractures in challenging anatomical locations like the patella, maintaining tension and preserving bone integrity while allowing for flexible placement and potential permanent or later removal of the plate system.
Implementation Method 1
The cable-locking plate with screw allows for compression of bone fractures using a tensioned cable
Implementation Method 2
grip the cable by tightening a screw associated with the plate
Data Source
AI summary
The cable-locking plate with screw allows for compression of bone fractures using a tensioned cable. The cable-locking plate with screw allows the use of a cable as a flexible bridging member, such as a cable, helps create compression while accommodating the unusual shape. The cable-locking plate with screw allows a surgeon to tension a cable through the plate, then grip the cable by tightening a screw associated with the plate. The compression is created is across the fracture, not around the bone, thus avoiding compression of nerve and blood vessels along the bone's surface. The cable is guided into an ideal position using cable channels, allowing the surgeon to concentrate on tension and screw compression. The plate and cable system are then left in the patient while the bone mends. The cable-locking plate with screw is either left permanently or removed during a later surgery.