Induction-Heated Breast Implant with Conducting Loops
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current tissue expansion techniques for breast augmentation and reconstruction require multiple surgical procedures, causing discomfort, pain, and potential complications like infection and inflammation due to the need for repeated fluid injections into expanders.
Innovation Solution
A selectively expandable permanent implant with a flexible shell containing expandable microspheres and closed conducting loops that absorb energy from an external source to generate heat, expanding the material for tissue expansion without the need for multiple surgeries.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If traditional tissue expanders are used requiring multiple surgical procedures for fluid injection, then tissue expansion can be achieved, but patient discomfort, pain, and risk of infection/inflammation increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent removes the need for repeated surgical interventions by integrating the expansion mechanism into a single implantable device. The expander contains pre-loaded expandable microspheres that can be activated internally, extracting the harmful element of multiple surgical needle insertions and fluid injections from the treatment process.
Solution Approach 2:
The implant performs self-expansion through integrated heating elements that activate the expandable microspheres internally. The device serves itself by generating the necessary heat through resistive heating or other thermal mechanisms built into the implant structure, eliminating the need for external surgical intervention to administer expanding fluid.
2Reliability
If multiple minor surgical procedures are performed to fill the expander, then expansion is achieved, but treatment time and patient anxiety increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines the expander shell, expandable microspheres, and heating activation mechanism into a single integrated implant device. This merging of components allows the entire expansion process to occur within one surgical procedure, eliminating the need for multiple separate filling procedures and reducing overall treatment time.
Solution Approach 2:
The expandable microspheres are pre-loaded into the expander shell during manufacturing, ready for activation. The heating elements are pre-positioned within the implant structure. This preliminary preparation allows the expansion to occur immediately upon implantation through simple thermal activation, rather than requiring gradual filling over multiple visits.
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
This solution reduces the number of surgical procedures, minimizes discomfort and complications by allowing controlled, non-invasive expansion of tissue, and provides a permanent implant that eliminates the need for subsequent implant placement surgeries.
Implementation Method 1
The plurality of closed conducting loops absorbs energy from an energy source external to the flexible shell and generates heat to heat the expandable material
Implementation Method 2
The plurality of closed conducting loops absorbs energy from an energy source external to the flexible shell and generates heat to heat the expandable material
Implementation Method 3
The expandable material, which is located in close proximity to the closed conducting loops, heats up, thereby expanding in size, based on the amount of heat generated by the closed conducting loops
Data Source
AI summary
A selectively expandable breast implant and method for tissue expansion are provided herein. The implant includes a flexible shell, an expandable material inside the flexible shell, and a plurality of closed conducting loops within the expandable material. The closed conducting loops absorb energy from a varying magnetic field external to the implant and generate heat, to heat the surrounding expandable material, and the expandable material expands in size based on the amount of heat generated by the closed conducting loops. The expandable material comprises a plurality of expandable microspheres that expands in response to the heat created by the closed conducting loops. The heat induction mechanism enables the closed conducting loops to generate heat for expansion of the expandable material in the implant. The implant can expand uniformly or in areas designated for selective shaping.