Contoured Sternum Fixation Plate With Tensioned Fasteners
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing sternum fixation devices are costly, time-consuming, and prone to complications such as infection, non-union, and hardware failure, especially in patients with compromised health conditions, and do not adequately address the biomechanical needs of the sternum during healing.
Innovation Solution
A biocompatible thermoplastic polymer plate with zip tie-like fasteners that pass behind the sternum through intercostal spaces, providing load-sharing and micro-motion to promote healing, while being easy to install and remove, and minimizing tissue disruption.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If traditional wire fixation or plate-screw devices are used, then the sternum can be fixed, but the procedure becomes costly, time-consuming, and prone to complications such as infection, non-union, and hardware failure
Solution Approach 1:
The device divides the sternum into multiple fixation points using individual wires or cables that can be independently tensioned and secured at different locations along the sternum, allowing modular fixation rather than a single complex rigid structure
Solution Approach 2:
The device changes the fixation parameter from rigid mechanical connection (plate-screw) to flexible tension-based connection (wire/cable), allowing the fixation to adapt to the natural movement and healing process of the sternum while maintaining stability
2Stability of the object's composition
If rigid fixation devices are used, then the sternum segments are held together, but the devices do not allow natural micro-motion needed for bone healing and may cause stress shielding
Solution Approach 1:
The device transitions from static rigid fixation to dynamic flexible fixation, where the wire or cable allows controlled micro-motion between sternum segments while maintaining overall stability, promoting bone healing through controlled movement and stress distribution
Solution Approach 2:
The fixation parameter is changed from rigid immobilization to flexible tension-maintained alignment, allowing the sternum segments to move naturally within controlled limits while maintaining proper anatomical position during the healing process
3Reliability
If complex fixation devices are used, then comprehensive fixation is achieved, but surgical time increases and the procedure becomes more expensive
Solution Approach 1:
The device uses simple, inexpensive wire or cable material that can be easily obtained and installed, replacing complex expensive plate-screw systems, with the understanding that the material serves its fixation purpose during the healing period and can be removed or left in place without complex retrieval procedures
Solution Approach 2:
The wire or cable fixation system is designed to be self-tensioning and self-securing, allowing the surgeon to simply pass the wire through the sternum segments and tighten it without requiring complex alignment tools, specialized implants, or multiple surgical steps
4Reliability
If traditional fixation methods are used, then the sternum is secured, but the risk of infection and hardware failure increases in patients with compromised health conditions
Solution Approach 1:
The use of simple wire or cable material reduces the number of surgical components that can become infected, eliminates complex hardware interfaces that are prone to failure, and allows for easier removal or replacement if infection occurs, reducing overall infection risk in compromised patients
Solution Approach 2:
The fixation approach changes from implanting complex metal hardware that creates foreign body reaction and infection risk to using simple tension-based wire or cable fixation that minimizes foreign material exposure and reduces the surface area susceptible to infection
Data Source
AI summary
A system for compressing a plate against a surface of a bone is provided. The system includes a fastener and a plate having a body. The body has a first and second longitudinal side that are substantially parallel to each other. The plate defines first slots proximal to the first longitudinal side, and the plate defines second slots proximal to the second longitudinal side. Each slot of the first slots is situated generally opposite a corresponding slot of the second slots. The body is contoured to lie passively against the bone. Further, each of the first slots is configured to receive a fastener, each of the second slots is configured to receive the fastener after the fastener has been looped around the bone, and pulling on an end of the fastener through a respective slot of the second slots tensions the fastener to compress the plate around the bone.