Expandable Bone Graft for Distal Radius Fracture Alignment
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current methods for treating distal radius fractures are complicated due to the fracture's shape, lack of space, and presence of tendons and nerves, often requiring invasive procedures and risking post-traumatic osteoarthritis, and existing solutions struggle to effectively align, stabilize, and distract bone fragments.
Innovation Solution
A bone implant system featuring an expandable body infused with a light-sensitive liquid that can be expanded and cured in situ to form a rigid photodynamic device, providing customizable distraction and stabilization without the need for external fixation devices, allowing for precise alignment and angulation correction.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If traditional open reduction and internal fixation with plates and screws is used, then bone alignment and stabilization can be achieved, but the procedure becomes more invasive and complex, increasing the risk of post-traumatic osteoarthritis
Solution Approach 1:
The patent removes the need for complex external fixation hardware (plates, screws, rods) by extracting these elements from the treatment system. Instead, it uses an expandable bone graft substitute that is injected directly into the fracture site, eliminating the need for open reduction and internal fixation surgery.
Solution Approach 2:
The expandable bone graft substitute acts as an intermediary material that fills the fracture gap and provides structural support. The graft substitute expands within the medullary canal to create a stable environment for bone healing, mediating between the fracture fragments and the surrounding bone tissue.
2Reliability
If traditional fixation methods are used, then bone fragments can be stabilized, but the treatment becomes more invasive and risks damaging surrounding soft tissues including tendons and nerves
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the need for invasive open surgery and external fixation hardware that could damage soft tissues. The treatment is accomplished through a minimally invasive procedure where the expandable bone graft substitute is delivered via injection through the skin, avoiding direct manipulation and exposure of surrounding tendons and nerves.
Solution Approach 2:
The bone graft substitute is self-expanding upon injection into the medullary canal. The expandable structure automatically creates the necessary distraction and stabilization forces without requiring external fixation devices or surgical manipulation, thereby protecting surrounding soft tissues from injury.
3Ease of operation
If expandable bone graft substitute is injected into the medullary canal, then minimally invasive alignment and distraction can be achieved, but the device must be designed to expand precisely within the confined space
Solution Approach 1:
The bone graft substitute transitions from a compressed, injectable state to an expanded, load-bearing state within the medullary canal. This dynamic expansion allows the device to adapt to the confined space requirements while providing the necessary distraction and stabilization forces.
Solution Approach 2:
The expandable bone graft substitute utilizes changes in physical parameters (volume, pressure, structural configuration) to achieve its function. Upon injection, the graft material undergoes expansion that increases its internal volume and creates the necessary distraction force, while the surrounding medullary canal constraints regulate the expansion parameters to ensure precise fit.
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 system enables minimally invasive, precise alignment, stabilization, and distraction of bone fragments, reducing the risk of osteoarthritis and providing a stable environment for bone healing, with the ability to restore normal anatomical positions and angles without external hardware.
Implementation Method 1
a light-sensitive liquid; a light source for providing light energy; a light-conducting fiber for delivering the light energy from the light source to cure the light-sensitive liquid
Data Source
AI summary
An embodiment of a bone stabilization and distraction system of the present disclosure includes a light-sensitive liquid; a light source for providing light energy; a light-conducting fiber for delivering the light energy from the light source to cure the light-sensitive liquid; a delivery catheter having a proximal end in communication with the light-conducting fiber and the light-sensitive liquid, an inner lumen for passage of the light-conducting fiber, and an inner void for passage of the light-sensitive liquid; and an expandable body removably engaging a distal end of the delivery catheter, wherein the expandable body has a closed end, a sealable open end, an inner cavity for passage of the light-sensitive liquid, an external surface and an internal surface, and wherein the expandable body has an insertion depth with a fixed dimension, a width with a fixed dimension, and a thickness with a changeable dimension.