Expandable Hip Implant for Minimally Invasive Joint Replacement
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional hip joint replacement surgeries are invasive, requiring penetration of the hip joint capsule and removal of healthy bone, leading to prolonged recovery times and increased risk of infection, with current methods often causing limited functional movement post-surgery.
Innovation Solution
A medical device with variable size components that can be inserted through a smaller opening, allowing for less invasive implantation of artificial hip joint surfaces without damaging the hip joint capsule, featuring adjustable openings to securely fixate the artificial surfaces to the femur and acetabulum, enabling secure fixation without penetrating the bone cortex.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If conventional hip joint replacement surgery is performed with penetration of the hip joint capsule and removal of healthy bone, then the artificial hip joint surfaces can be implanted and joint replacement can be achieved, but the surgical invasiveness increases, recovery time prolongs, and infection risk increases
Solution Approach 1:
The medical device is divided into multiple components: an expandable core structure and an outer shell that can be inserted separately through a smaller incision. The core structure is collapsed to a compact size for insertion, then expanded inside the joint to provide structural support, while the outer shell provides the artificial joint surface. This segmentation allows minimally invasive insertion while maintaining the effectiveness of joint replacement.
Solution Approach 2:
The core structure is nested within the outer shell in a collapsed state, allowing the entire assembly to be inserted through a small incision. After insertion, the core structure expands to its functional size inside the joint, providing structural support while the outer shell remains in place as the artificial joint surface. This nesting principle enables minimally invasive delivery of a large-scale implant.
2Reliability
If conventional surgery removes healthy bone to access the hip joint, then the joint can be replaced, but healthy bone tissue is lost and recovery time increases
Solution Approach 1:
The expandable core structure is designed to be inserted in a collapsed state through a small incision without requiring bone removal. After insertion into the joint space, the core structure expands to its functional size and provides structural support. This preliminary action of inserting the device in a compact form avoids the need for bone removal while achieving the same surgical goal.
3Reliability
If the medical device has a large outer diameter for functional joint surfaces, then the artificial hip joint surfaces provide adequate coverage and stability, but the device cannot be inserted through a small incision
Solution Approach 1:
The core structure is designed with dynamic dimensional properties: it exists in two states - a collapsed state with small dimensions for insertion through a small incision, and an expanded state with large dimensions for providing adequate joint surface coverage and stability. The transition between these states occurs after insertion, allowing the device to overcome the size contradiction.
Solution Approach 2:
The physical parameters of the core structure (diameter, volume, cross-sectional area) are changed from small values in the collapsed state to large values in the expanded state. This parameter transformation allows the device to be inserted through a small incision while subsequently providing large-scale joint surface coverage and stability.
Data Source
AI summary
A medical device for treating hip joint osteoarthritis by providing at least one hip joint surface for a human patient is provided, wherein said medical device has a largest diameter or a largest cross-sectional distance, and an opening, and wherein said largest diameter or cross sectional distance is adapted to be changed during an operation. Furthermore, a method of treating a hip joint of a human patient by providing said the medical device is provided. The hip joint comprising a caput femur and an acetabulum, the method comprises the steps of: cutting the skin of the patient, dissecting an area of the pelvic bone on the opposite side from the acetabulum, creating a hole in said dissected area, said hole passing through said pelvic bone and into the hip joint of the patient, and providing said medical device to the hip joint, through said hole in the pelvic bone of the patient.