Offset Pectus Bar with Fabric Stabilizer for Chest Wall Correction
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current treatments for pectus excavatum, such as the Nuss Procedure, face issues like pectus bars flipping out of position, causing pain, and stabilizers leading to inflammation or fracture due to repetitive stress, along with audible clicking and intercostal nerve pinching during breathing.
Innovation Solution
An improved pectus bar assembly with an offset bend, apertures, a planar stabilizer, and opposing rib reveals, along with a minimally invasive deployment method and kit, which includes connectors and tools to secure the bars in place, reducing movement and discomfort.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Stability of the object's composition
If stabilizers are attached to pectus bars to prevent flipping, then stability is improved, but inflammation and tissue damage occur due to repetitive stress
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces rigid wire stabilizers with a flexible fabric band that wraps around the rib cage. This flexible material distributes stress across a larger area and conforms to the body's movements, preventing the repetitive stress concentration that caused inflammation and tissue damage with wire stabilizers, while still providing adequate stabilization.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent uses a composite construction combining a rigid pectus bar with a flexible fabric stabilizer system. The rigid bar provides structural support for chest wall correction, while the flexible fabric material provides stabilization without the harmful effects of wire, creating a composite solution that addresses both stability and tissue protection needs.
2Stability of the object's composition
If wire is used to attach stabilizers to ribs, then stability is improved, but wire fractures and erodes through skin over time
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces permanent wire stabilizers with a removable fabric band system that can be taken out after the initial healing period. This disposable/temporary approach eliminates the long-term complications of wire erosion and fracture while providing necessary stabilization during the critical early recovery phase.
Solution Approach 2:
The fabric band material is inherently more durable and flexible than wire, resisting fracture and erosion. The material can accommodate body movements and growth without breaking, and its flexibility prevents the stress concentration that leads to wire failure and skin erosion.
3Stability of the object's composition
If pectus bars are inserted through large incisions to attach stabilizers, then stability is improved, but surgical complexity and recovery time increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent divides the stabilization function into two separate components: the pectus bar itself and the fabric band stabilizer. The bar can be inserted through minimal incisions using existing techniques, while the fabric band is applied externally, eliminating the need for large incisions and complex in-surgery stabilization procedures.
Solution Approach 2:
The fabric band acts as an intermediary between the pectus bar and the rib cage, providing stabilization without requiring direct surgical attachment. This external mediator simplifies the surgical procedure by eliminating the need for complex in-surgery stabilizer attachment while still achieving the desired stability.
4Shape
If conventional pectus bars are used, then chest wall correction is achieved, but intercostal nerve pinching and audible clicking occur during breathing
Solution Approach 1:
The flexible fabric band replaces rigid wire stabilizers that caused nerve pinching and clicking. The fabric material is soft and compliant, allowing rib cage movement during breathing without pinching nerves or creating audible friction, while still providing adequate stabilization.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the physical parameters of the stabilizer material from rigid wire to flexible fabric. This parameter change in material stiffness and compliance eliminates the mechanical friction and nerve compression that caused clicking and pain, while maintaining sufficient stabilizing force through the larger surface area contact.
Data Source
AI summary
Various embodiments provide an apparatus for treating pectus excavatum. A pectus bar apparatus includes at least one elongated bar having an offset bend between a first end and a second end, at least one aperture near the first end and at least one aperture near the second end, a planar stabilizer extending orthogonally from the elongated bar, and a pair of opposing rib reveals located between the first end and the planar stabilizer. A pectus excavatum treatment kit and a method for utilizing that kit are also provided.