Openwork Prosthetic Knit With Flattened Barb Zones for Tissue Attachment
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current prosthetic knits with barbs for tissue attachment are complex to manufacture and have discontinuous mechanical properties due to assembly of separate textile portions, which can be traumatic and weak at the junctions, especially when near sensitive organs.
Innovation Solution
A single-piece openwork prosthetic knit with zones of barbs and zones without barbs, manufactured using a biocompatible polymer yarn and a heat-fusible monofilament yarn, where barbs are formed and then melted and flattened to create a smooth, non-traumatizing surface, using a Raschel knitting machine and an anvil, ensuring consistent mechanical properties.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If a composite prosthesis is produced by assembling a first textile portion with barbs and a second textile portion without barbs, then the prosthesis can provide both fastening capabilities and smooth zones for sensitive organs, but the manufacturing process becomes tedious and complicated and the mechanical properties become discontinuous with weak assembly zones
Solution Approach 1:
The knit is divided into distinct zones during the knitting process itself - some zones are knitted with barb-forming yarn to provide fastening capability, while other zones are knitted without barbs to provide smooth surfaces for sensitive organs. This segmentation occurs at the yarn level rather than requiring assembly of separate textile portions, thereby maintaining manufacturing simplicity while achieving functional differentiation.
Solution Approach 2:
Different regions of the same continuous knit are given different local properties - barb zones for attachment and smooth zones for organ contact - by selectively applying barb-forming yarn only in specific areas during the knitting process. This allows the prosthesis to have heterogeneous functional characteristics distributed throughout a single continuous structure.
2Object-affected harmful factors
If a composite prosthesis is produced by assembling separate textile portions, then zones without barbs can be provided for sensitive organs, but the assembly zone becomes a line of weakness reducing overall reliability
Solution Approach 1:
The smooth zones and barb zones are merged into a single continuous knit structure rather than being separate assembled portions. This eliminates the assembly zones that would otherwise create lines of weakness, while still providing both smooth surfaces for organ contact and barb regions for fastening capability within the same uninterrupted textile matrix.
3Strength
If barbs are provided throughout the entire prosthesis, then fastening capability is maximized, but trauma to sensitive organs such as vessels, nerves, or spermatic cord increases
Solution Approach 1:
The prosthesis exhibits local quality differentiation where barb density and presence vary by region. Areas intended for contact with sensitive organs are knitted without barbs or with reduced barb density, while other areas maintain full barb coverage for optimal fastening. This spatial variation in local properties allows simultaneous optimization of both attachment strength and organ protection.
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 solution simplifies the manufacturing process, provides consistent mechanical properties, and creates a smooth surface for sensitive areas while maintaining effective tissue attachment, reducing the risk of trauma and weakness at the assembly zones.
Implementation Method 1
cutting, by melting, of said loops, each loop generating two barbs
Implementation Method 2
melting and flattening said barbs over one or more given zone(s) of the first face by application, with pressure, to said zone(s) of an anvil heated to the melting point of said barbs
Data Source
AI summary
The present invention relates to an openwork prosthetic knit (1) made from a single piece based on first yarns of biocompatible polymer materials that define a first face (2) and a second face that are opposite one another and on a second biocompatible yarn that generates barbs (3) that protrude outwards from at least said first face, characterized in that said first face comprises at least one zone in which it is provided with said barbs and at least one zone (5) in which it is free of such barbs. It also relates to a process for manufacturing such a knit (1) and to a prosthesis comprising such a knit (1).