Elastase Treatment for Acellular Tissue Matrix Stretchiness Control
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Solution Overview
Problem
Acellular tissue matrices (ATMs) exhibit significant variations in mechanical properties, making surgical procedures like implanting or grafting challenging due to differences in stretchiness, which can complicate suturing and integration.
Innovation Solution
Exposing ATMs to elastase, controlling the exposure time and concentration, to reduce stretchiness and uniformize the mechanical properties across a group of ATMs, resulting in modified ATMs (mATMs) with consistent percent extension under tensile force, typically between 14% and 24%, while maintaining structural and functional integrity.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If ATMs are used as-is, then structural and functional integrity is maintained, but stretchiness variations complicate surgical procedures
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies elastase treatment to modify the biochemical composition of ATMs, specifically targeting elastin content. By controlling elastase concentration and exposure time, the treatment reduces stretchiness variations while preserving structural integrity. This biochemical parameter change transforms the mechanical properties of the tissue matrix to achieve both reliability and ease of operation.
2Ease of operation
If pre-stretching is performed to compensate for variations, then procedural complexity increases, but mechanical property consistency is not substantially improved
Solution Approach 1:
The elastase treatment is applied in advance to ATMs before surgical implantation. This preliminary biochemical modification standardizes the mechanical properties of the tissue matrices, eliminating the need for intraoperative pre-stretching maneuvers. The treatment ensures uniform stretchiness characteristics are established beforehand, simplifying the actual surgical procedure.
3Area of stationary object
If multiple tissue grafts are sutured together for large defects, then coverage is achieved, but variations in mechanical properties complicate the suturing procedure
Solution Approach 1:
By applying elastase treatment to standardize the mechanical properties of multiple ATM pieces before surgery, the patent ensures that all grafts have consistent stretchiness. This parameter uniformity across multiple tissue pieces facilitates easier alignment and suturing, reducing the technical difficulty of combining multiple grafts for large defect coverage.
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 method effectively reduces stretchiness variations across mATMs, enhancing procedural consistency and tissue integration by standardizing the mechanical properties, facilitating more predictable and successful surgical outcomes.
Implementation Method 1
exposing the ATM to elastase for a period of time
Implementation Method 2
The exposure results in a modified ATM (mATM) that has a reduced stretchiness relative to the ATM
Data Source
AI summary
A method of producing a modified acellular tissue matrix (mATM) from an acellular tissue matrix (ATM), where the mATM has a reduced stretchiness relative to the ATM, without substantially compromising its associated structural or functional integrity. The method includes providing an acellular tissue matrix (ATM) and exposing the ATM to elastase for a period of time.