Geometrically Deformable Implant Containment for Cell Viability
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing implantable biological devices trigger an immune response, restricting access to oxygen and nutrients for housed biological moieties, leading to cell viability and health issues when placed in or around blood vessels.
Innovation Solution
An implantable encapsulation device with a composite structure, including an inner and outer layer separated by a containment layer with structural elements that maintain a separation distance, allowing for geometric deformation and placement of biological moieties in reservoir spaces, thereby minimizing immune response and ensuring access to nutrients.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If an implantable device is placed in or around a blood vessel to house biological moieties, then the device can be positioned for direct access to oxygen and nutrients, but an immune response occurs causing cells to be crushed and/or killed during implantation
Solution Approach 1:
The device is segmented into multiple functional layers: an inner layer with reservoir spaces for housing biological moieties, a containment layer with structural elements to maintain separation distance, and an outer layer. This segmentation allows the device to provide direct access to oxygen and nutrients while protecting cells from immune response during implantation.
Solution Approach 2:
The containment layer acts as an intermediary between the inner layer housing biological moieties and the outer layer interfacing with the body environment. This intermediate layer with structural elements maintains the separation distance that protects cells from harmful immune responses while allowing the device to be positioned for direct access to nutrients.
2Ease of operation
If an implantable device triggers an immune response, then the device can be implanted, but blood vessels cannot form in close proximity restricting access to oxygen and nutrients
Solution Approach 1:
Different layers of the device have different local qualities: the inner layer provides a controlled environment for biological moieties, the containment layer provides structural support and separation, and the outer layer interfaces with the body. This local differentiation allows implantation capability while ensuring access to oxygen and nutrients through the designed separation distance.
3Stability of the object's composition
If the separation distance between inner and outer layers is maintained under external compressive and internal expansive forces, then the structural integrity is preserved, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The structural elements within the containment layer are pre-configured to maintain the separation distance between the inner and outer layers. These elements are designed in advance to withstand both external compressive forces and internal expansive forces, preserving structural integrity without requiring complex real-time adjustments.
Data Source
AI summary
Described herein are encapsulation devices that include an inner layer, an outer layer, a cell containment layer positioned between the inner and outer layer, and structural elements disposed within the cell containment layer to separate the inner and outer layers by a separation distance. The structural elements define reservoir spaces for the retention of a biological moiety (such as cells) therein. The structural elements maintain a separation distance both under external compressive forces and under internal expansive forces, such as undergoing a geometric change in the encapsulation device or during crushing and subsequent expansion of the cell encapsulation device. In some embodiments, a reinforcing layer is positioned between the inner layer and the cell containment layer. In addition, the encapsulation device may include at least one configuration element. Methods of placing encapsulation devices in a body conduit intra-luminally, extra-luminally, and via an open surgical procedure are also disclosed.