Load Sharing Bone Plate with Directional Apertures
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional bone plates, made of rigid materials like stainless steel and titanium, cause stress shielding that prolongs healing times and can lead to new fractures due to high stress concentrations at the ends of the bone plate.
Innovation Solution
A load-sharing bone plate with a thinner body and smaller fasteners, featuring directional apertures that orient fasteners at specific angles and load-sharing extensions to reduce stress concentrations, is designed to share the load with the bone and promote healing.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Strength
If a rigid bone plate is used to support a fractured bone, then the bone plate provides strong structural support, but the bone bears little to no load resulting in longer healing times
Solution Approach 1:
The bone plate's rigidity parameter is changed by using a less rigid material or adjusting the plate's thickness and cross-sectional geometry. This allows the plate to provide sufficient structural support while permitting controlled load transmission to the bone, thereby reducing stress shielding and promoting faster healing.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention may employ composite materials that combine different properties - such as a stiff material for the central portion providing structural support and a more compliant material for the ends allowing load transfer. This composite structure resolves the contradiction by providing both strength and load-sharing capability.
2Shape
If a conventional bone plate is truncated to fit the bone, then the bone plate can be properly positioned, but high stress concentrations occur at the end of the bone plate causing risk of new fractures
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of sharp truncation, the bone plate ends are designed with curved or rounded geometries. This curvature distributes stress more evenly along the plate ends, eliminating stress concentration points and reducing the risk of new fractures while maintaining proper anatomical fit.
Solution Approach 2:
The bone plate is designed with varying properties along its length - the central portion maintains higher stiffness for structural support, while the end portions have modified geometry or material properties to reduce stress concentration. This local differentiation allows the plate to simultaneously provide support and minimize fracture risk at critical locations.
Data Source
AI summary
A load sharing bone plate has a plurality of directional apertures configured to effectively support and share the load with a fractured bone to promote healing. A load sharing bone plate may have a body portion that is thinner and be configured to be secured with smaller fasteners than conventional bone plates. A load sharing bone plate has a plurality of directional apertures, configured to direct a fastener is a specific orientation, such as in an oblique angle to the length and/or in an oblique angle to the width of the bone plate. A load sharing bone plate may be configured with a load sharing extension on at least one end that is configured to reduce stress concentration at the end of the bone plate. A load sharing extension may have a tapered thickness and/or width from the body portion to the extended end.