Cannulated Delivery Device for Cartilage Repair
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current treatments for degenerative joints and cartilage diseases, such as osteoarthritis, are inadequate as they often involve invasive procedures with high risks of infection, trauma, and complications, and existing therapies like NSAIDs and total knee replacements come with significant side effects and healthcare costs.
Innovation Solution
Development of novel delivery devices with a cannulated design featuring a cutting tip and threads for minimally invasive delivery of therapeutic agents to the bone-chondral interface, reducing exposure to ambient air and trauma, and using platelet-rich plasma (PRP) with GCSFs to stimulate cartilage repair and regeneration.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If conventional drill and stylet procedure is used to deliver therapeutic agent to bone-chondral interface, then therapeutic delivery is achieved, but internal tissues are exposed to ambient air twice increasing infection risk
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines the drill shaft and stylet into a single integrated device. The stylet is positioned within the drill shaft, allowing both functions (drilling and tissue isolation) to be performed simultaneously through one insertion, eliminating the need to remove and replace components, thereby reducing exposure to ambient air and infection risk
Solution Approach 2:
The stylet is nested within the drill shaft, with the stylet fitting inside the hollow bore of the drill shaft. This nested configuration allows the stylet to remain protected within the drill shaft during the entire procedure, preventing exposure of internal tissues to ambient air while maintaining the ability to deliver therapeutic agents through the stylet
2Productivity
If conventional drill and stylet procedure is used, then therapeutic delivery is achieved, but procedure is time consuming and technically challenging
Solution Approach 1:
By merging the drill shaft and stylet into one integrated device, the number of procedural steps is reduced. The practitioner performs a single insertion rather than multiple separate steps (drilling, removing drill, inserting stylet, removing stylet), thereby reducing procedure time and technical complexity while maintaining therapeutic delivery capability
3Object-affected harmful factors
If conventional drill and stylet procedure is used, then therapeutic delivery is achieved, but trauma to tissue is increased
Solution Approach 1:
The nested configuration of the stylet within the drill shaft allows the stylet tip to remain retracted and protected within the drill shaft until therapeutic delivery is required. This minimizes the exposure of internal tissues to the external environment and reduces mechanical trauma, while the integrated device structure maintains the ability to deliver therapeutic agents effectively
Data Source
AI summary
Therapeutics and methods of treatment to repair, preserve and grow cartilage are presented. In addition, systems and methods for delivering a therapeutic to a hard to reach anatomical area, such as, for example, the BCI, are presented. A cannulated delivery device provided with a cutting tip, cutting flutes and threads on its distal end can be provided. Using such an exemplary device, various novel therapies for joint and cartilage repair, preservation and generation can be implemented. The device may have two-needles, with a first cannula/needle, with a finger grip at its distal end, and a longer inner needle to penetrate through the outer needle into the disc, and introduce therapeutics, for example, via a syringe. When provided with a septum at the inner needle's proximal end, the PIARES device is a completely closed system, and its use minimizes trauma.