Liquid Rope Coil Scaffold for Tissue Integration
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current methods for reinforcing living tissue, such as electrospinning and direct 3D printing of cellular scaffolds, face challenges including the use of harsh solvents that can damage tissue, limited pore size and fiber diameter ranges, and the creation of non-compliant, stiff devices that do not conform well to implant sites, leading to issues like capsular contracture and limited design freedom.
Innovation Solution
The development of an implantable medical device featuring a liquid rope coil scaffold that is rapidly cured, solvent-free, and can be tailored for specific porosity and surface roughness, allowing for efficient tissue integration and structural support, and can be used to coat various implant shapes and sizes.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Strength
If electrospinning is used to reinforce living tissue, then a reinforcing scaffold can be created, but harsh solvents are used that can damage or kill the cells in the living tissue
Solution Approach 1:
The patent removes the harmful solvent component from the electrospinning process by using a solvent-free molten polymer approach. The polymer is heated to a molten state and electrospun without requiring organic solvents, thereby extracting the harmful element while retaining the scaffold-forming capability.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the physical state parameter of the polymer from solid to molten liquid, allowing electrospinning to occur without solvents. By controlling temperature to maintain the polymer in a molten state during processing, the method achieves solvent-free scaffold fabrication that preserves cell viability.
2Strength
If electrospinning is used to create a reinforcing scaffold, then structural support can be provided, but the process is very time-consuming and can potentially damage or kill the cells due to the time required for fabrication
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the temperature parameter to maintain polymer in a molten state during electrospinning, which reduces viscosity and enables faster fiber formation. This parameter modification accelerates the scaffold fabrication process, reducing the time exposure of cells to harsh processing conditions.
3Shape
If direct 3D printing is used to create cellular scaffolds with rows of straight lines, then a structured scaffold can be formed, but the corners and straight lines within the pores are not ideal for cell thriving as cells prefer rounded surfaces
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces straight lines and sharp corners with curved, rounded surfaces in the scaffold architecture. The electrospun fibers naturally form curved, random networks rather than rigid geometric patterns, providing rounded surfaces that are more conducive to cell attachment and proliferation.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent creates a dynamic, random fiber network rather than a static, predetermined geometric pattern. The electrospinning process produces a stochastic arrangement of fibers that can adapt to cell growth patterns, providing a more biologically relevant structure compared to rigid 3D printed geometries.
4Manufacturing precision
If alternative cellular scaffolds use casting solid but dissolvable pore generators, then porosity can be created, but the process is time-consuming and potentially leaves residues
Solution Approach 1:
The patent eliminates the pore generator component entirely by using a solvent-free molten polymer electrospinning process that directly creates porous structures through fiber arrangement. This extracts the unnecessary intermediate step of adding and then removing pore generators, achieving porosity without residues or lengthy leaching processes.
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 liquid rope coil scaffold addresses the limitations of existing methods by providing a rapid, solvent-free process that promotes tissue ingrowth, reduces the risk of tissue damage, and offers customizable porosity and surface roughness for improved bio-integration and structural support, making it suitable for diverse tissue engineering applications.
Implementation Method 1
The liquid rope coil scaffold is rapidly cured
Data Source
AI summary
The invention broadly provides an implantable medical device comprising a liquid rope coil scaffold. The implant may consist essentially of the scaffold, where the scaffold is the implant and pores in the scaffold may incorporates one or more agents (i.e. drugs, growth factors), or the scaffold may comprise only part of the medical device, for example an implant that is partly or fully covered with a layer of the scaffold. The porosity of the scaffold may be tailored to suit the application, for example a porosity that is tailored to hold and release drug or biological molecules in vivo, a porosity to provide a surface roughness that is conducive to promotion of in-vivo bio-integration (for example vascularisation) or prevention of fibrosis, or a porosity that provides structural strength. The scaffold may be essentially tubular, or may be provided as a planar structure, or may be any shape and can be used to coat, fully or partially any shape or size of medical implant.