Implantable Medical Device Protrusions for Stability and Extraction
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional implantable medical devices (IMDs) experience unwanted migration within a patient after implantation, and their smooth external surfaces make extraction difficult due to lack of grip for medical forceps.
Innovation Solution
The implementation of an implantable medical device with a housing featuring a plurality of protrusions on its outer surface, which are designed to reduce movement within the patient's tissue and provide a complementary fit for medical forceps, facilitating easier extraction.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If the external surface of the IMD is kept smooth, then the device is easier to manufacture, but the device becomes difficult to extract due to lack of grip for medical forceps
Solution Approach 1:
The housing surface is designed with localized protrusions at specific regions (such as the header portion) while maintaining smooth surfaces in other areas. This allows the device to be easily manufactured as a single piece while providing localized grip features for extraction without requiring complex multi-component construction
2Ease of operation
If protrusions are added to the housing surface, then the device becomes easier to extract, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The protrusions are integrated directly into the housing structure as a unified component rather than being separate attachments. This merging of the grip features with the housing itself provides extraction capability without adding separate parts, assemblies, or complex mechanisms to the device
3Device complexity
If the IMD has a smooth external surface, then the device has fewer features, but the device migrates within the patient after implantation
Solution Approach 1:
Protrusions are strategically placed at specific locations on the housing (such as the header portion) rather than covering the entire surface. This localized approach provides anchoring features for tissue engagement to prevent migration while maintaining smooth surfaces in other areas, thus preventing device movement without adding complex features throughout the entire device structure
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2A~2B
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AI summary
An implantable medical device comprising a housing having an outer surface; and protrusions disposed on the outer surface, where the plurality of protrusions are configured to reduce at least one of rotational, translational, and lateral movement of the implantable medical device within a patient's tissue after implantation in the patient.