Expandable Bone Prosthesis for Minimally Invasive Stabilization
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional surgical methods for stabilizing dysfunctional bone structures, such as sacroiliac and intervertebral joints, often require invasive procedures, leading to increased pain, hospitalization time, and complications like nosocomial infection, and existing minimally-invasive methods face issues with prosthesis displacement and ineffective engagement with bone structures.
Innovation Solution
A bone structure prosthesis with an elongated member featuring a compressible configuration that expands upon insertion, utilizing shape memory alloys and biocompatible coatings to securely engage with bone structures, facilitating minimally-invasive stabilization and promoting tissue regeneration.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If conventional surgical methods (open surgery) are used to stabilize bone structures, then reliable stabilization is achieved, but patient trauma, pain, and hospitalization time increase significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The surgical approach is segmented into minimally-invasive percutaneous insertion followed by intraoperative expansion of the prosthesis. This divides the procedure into distinct phases that reduce overall patient trauma while maintaining stabilization reliability through the two-stage process of insertion and expansion.
Solution Approach 2:
The prosthesis transitions from a compressed delivery configuration to an expanded functional configuration intraoperatively. This dynamic transformation allows the device to be inserted through a small incision in a compressed state, then expand to provide full stabilization capability, thereby reducing patient trauma while maintaining reliability.
2Object-affected harmful factors
If minimally-invasive methods are used to reduce patient trauma, then hospitalization time and pain are reduced, but prosthesis displacement and ineffective engagement occur
Solution Approach 1:
The prosthesis is designed with dynamic expandability, transitioning from a compressed insertion configuration to an expanded engagement configuration. This allows percutaneous insertion through minimal incision while ensuring reliable bone engagement through intraoperative expansion that creates secure anchoring.
Solution Approach 2:
The prosthesis undergoes parameter changes in size and shape during insertion, expanding from a compact delivery state to a larger functional state. This parameter transformation enables minimally-invasive insertion while achieving reliable engagement through the expansion mechanism that increases contact area with bone structures.
3Reliability
If solid elongated prostheses (screws and pins) are used for stabilization, then bone structure engagement is achieved, but the risk of nosocomial infection and surgical complications increases
Solution Approach 1:
The prosthesis is segmented into expandable sections that can be inserted through a single small incision rather than requiring multiple large incisions for traditional screws and pins. This segmentation reduces the total incision size and exposure to contaminants, lowering nosocomial infection risk while maintaining bone engagement capability.
Solution Approach 2:
The prosthesis utilizes a flexible or expandable structure that can be delivered through a thin delivery sheath or small incision, then expanded to provide stable bone engagement. This approach minimizes the size of the surgical opening, reducing exposure to hospital-acquired pathogens while achieving reliable fixation.
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 prosthesis effectively stabilizes dysfunctional bone structures with reduced invasiveness, minimizing pain and complications, while enhancing tissue regeneration and securing engagement with bone structures, thus addressing the limitations of conventional methods.
Implementation Method 1
the plurality of deflectable elongate members exerts a retaining force on an internal surface of the pilot opening... The noted embodiments, the transition of the plurality of deflectable elongate members from the compressed configuration to the deflected configuration is induced by the insertion of the elongated member into the pilot opening in the dysfunctional bone structure, whereby the elongated member is subjected to a core temperature of the subject above a crystalline structure transition temperature of the elongated member
Data Source
AI summary
Prostheses are described for stabilizing dysfunctional bone structures. The prostheses have proximal and distal ends, and an expandable mid-region disposed therebetween. The expandable mid-region includes a plurality of deflectable elongate members that are configured and adapted to transition from a compressed configuration to a deflected configuration when released from a deployment apparatus, whereby the plurality of deflectable elongate members deflects outwardly when the elongated member is inserted into a pilot opening of a dysfunctional bone structure, whereby the plurality of elongate members exerts a retaining force on the internal surface of the pilot opening and secures the elongated member in the pilot opening and, thereby, the dysfunctional bone structure.