Negative Poisson's Ratio Therapy Seeds for Secure Tissue Embedding
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing thermal and radiation therapy treatments for conditions like BPH and CaP face challenges in efficiently delivering localized thermal therapy and radiation while minimizing damage to surrounding tissues, with conventional implants being obtrusive and less effective in ensuring secure embedding and efficient heat or radiation delivery.
Innovation Solution
The use of materials with a negative Poisson's ratio (NPR) for thermal and radiation therapy seeds, which are lightweight, porous, and securely embeddable, allowing for efficient heat or radiation delivery through porous structures with high surface area contact, and optionally combined with positive Poisson's ratio (PPR) materials for enhanced performance.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If conventional implants are used for thermal and radiation therapy, then the treatment can be delivered, but the implants are obtrusive and less effective in ensuring secure embedding and efficient heat or radiation delivery
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs porous NPR materials with controlled pore structures to create implants that can be securely embedded in tissue. The porosity allows the material to interlock with surrounding tissue while maintaining structural integrity, solving the contradiction between secure embedding and ease of operation.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent uses composite materials combining NPR materials with other substances to create implants that balance embedding security with operational ease. The composite structure allows optimization of both mechanical interlocking properties and delivery characteristics.
2Use of energy by moving object
If conventional implants are used for thermal therapy, then treatment can be provided, but they are less effective in ensuring efficient heat delivery
Solution Approach 1:
The porous structure of NPR materials provides high surface area to volume ratio, significantly enhancing heat transfer efficiency from the implant to surrounding tissue. This resolves the contradiction between heat delivery efficiency and device complexity by using the inherent porous structure rather than adding complex heat transfer components.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent modifies physical parameters of the implant material, specifically the Poisson's ratio to negative values, which creates unique mechanical and thermal properties. This parameter change enables improved heat delivery through the porous structure without requiring additional complex mechanisms.
3Reliability
If NPR materials are used for therapy seeds, then secure embedding and efficient thermal or radiation delivery are achieved, but the materials must be precisely manufactured with specific Poisson's ratio properties
Solution Approach 1:
The patent focuses on manufacturing materials with specific Poisson's ratio parameters (negative Poisson's ratio) to achieve the desired therapeutic effects. This requires precise control of material parameters during fabrication, resolving the contradiction between therapeutic reliability and manufacturing precision through parameter-based material design.
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
NPR materials ensure secure embedding and efficient thermal or radiation delivery, minimizing tissue obstruction and maximizing therapeutic effectiveness by providing a large surface area for contact and stable positioning, thus enhancing treatment outcomes.
Implementation Method 1
NPR materials are lightweight and porous, and are capable of being embedded securely in the surrounding tissue due to their porosity and high surface area
Implementation Method 2
efficient heat or radiation delivery through porous structures with high surface area contact
Data Source
AI summary
A biocompatible seed for implantation in tissue of a patient includes an elongated body sized and shaped to be at least partially inserted into the tissue of the patient, in which the body includes a negative Poisson's ratio (NPR) material having a Poisson's ratio of between 0 and −1. The seed can be a thermal seed configured to generate heat responsive to exposure to a magnetic field. The seed can be a seed for brachytherapy that includes an inner layer including a radioactive material and an outer layer including the NPR material.