Cryogenic Nerve Treatment Needles for Long-Term Osteoarthritis Pain Relief
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current pain management techniques for osteoarthritis, such as NSAIDs and surgery, have significant side effects and invasiveness, while minimally invasive options provide only short-term relief.
Innovation Solution
A cryogenic cooling device with needles is used to create localized cooling zones around sensory nerves, inducing Wallerian degeneration to provide long-lasting pain relief by preventing nerve signaling, without the need for nerve stimulation or visualization.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Object-affected harmful factors
If minimally invasive pain management techniques are used, then invasiveness and collateral tissue damage are reduced, but duration of pain relief is limited to short-term
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies cryogenic temperatures (extreme cold) as a parameter change to induce Wallerian degeneration in sensory nerves, transforming the temporary cooling effect into long-lasting pain relief. This fundamental parameter change from mild cooling to extreme cold enables durable nerve damage while maintaining minimal invasiveness.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent employs disposable cryogenic needles that are inserted, activated, and then removed, eliminating the need for surgical implants or long-term devices. This disposable approach maintains minimal invasiveness while achieving long-lasting pain relief through the temporary but extreme cold application that causes permanent nerve degeneration.
2Object-affected harmful factors
If medication (NSAIDs and opioids) is used for pain management, then pain relief is achieved, but harmful side effects increase including nausea, vomiting, heart attack risk, and dependency
Solution Approach 1:
The patent converts the harmful effect of extreme cold (which could cause tissue damage) into a beneficial therapeutic effect by precisely targeting sensory nerves to induce Wallerian degeneration. The cryogenic injury to nerves produces long-lasting pain relief without the systemic harmful effects of medications, as the damage is localized and intentional rather than a side effect.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces the chemical mechanism of pain relief (pharmaceuticals acting on neurotransmitters and receptors) with a physical mechanism (cryogenic cooling causing mechanical ice crystal formation and cellular damage). This physical approach achieves pain relief through direct nerve destruction rather than chemical modulation, eliminating drug-related side effects.
3Object-affected harmful factors
If surgical strategies are used for osteoarthritis treatment, then joint function is improved, but risks and complications increase including bleeding, bruising, scarring, and infection
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the pain management approach from joint replacement by targeting only the sensory nerves responsible for pain transmission rather than replacing the entire joint. This segmentation allows improvement of joint function through pain elimination while avoiding the major surgical complications of joint replacement procedures.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces cryogenic needles as an intermediary device that delivers extreme cold to sensory nerves without requiring direct surgical access to the joint. This intermediary approach achieves joint function improvement through pain blockage while avoiding the bleeding, bruising, scarring, and infection risks of direct joint surgery.
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 device offers safe, long-lasting pain relief for osteoarthritis by creating conduction blocks in sensory nerves, reducing pain severity and joint stiffness with minimal adverse events.
Implementation Method 1
A cryogenic cooling device with needles is used to create localized cooling zones around sensory nerves
Implementation Method 2
inducing Wallerian degeneration to provide long-lasting pain relief by preventing nerve signaling
Data Source
AI summary
Embodiments include a cryogenic device for alleviating pain by cryogenically treating a nerve, the cryogenic device including a handpiece; a needle coupled to a distal end of the handpiece, the needle including a needle lumen, the needle being configured for insertion into a skin of a patient along an insertion axis at a site laterally displaced from a treatment zone proximate to the nerve. The needle is configured to resiliently bend after insertion away from the insertion axis, such that at least a portion of the needle is adapted to traverse a skin layer laterally toward the treatment zone. The device includes a cooling fluid supply tube extending distally into the needle lumen; and a cooling fluid source, wherein the cooling fluid source is coupled to the cooling fluid supply tube to direct cooling fluid into the needle lumen.