Ultrasonically Pulsated Fluid Jet for Tissue Disruption
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current fluid jet surgical devices, both continuous and interrupted, are inefficient in tissue disruption and cellular harvesting for regenerative medicine due to high pressure requirements and limited frequency control, leading to widespread tissue injury and unsuitability for various surgical applications.
Innovation Solution
An ultrasonically pulsated fluid jet system that uses an elongate acoustic horn to generate a percussive stream of droplets, delivering 'hammer pressure' to the target tissue, with adjustable frequency and pressure to match tissue properties, enhancing tissue disruption and cellular harvesting efficiency.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If continuous fluid jet is used for tissue disruption, then tissue ablation is achieved, but high pressure is required and widespread cellular injury occurs rendering aspirate unsuitable for regenerative medicine
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies periodic interruption of the fluid jet stream to create pulsed jets that disrupt tissue through cavitation and shock waves. The periodic on/off cycling of the fluid stream allows for controlled tissue disruption while limiting the duration of high-pressure exposure, thereby reducing widespread cellular injury and preserving cell viability for regenerative medicine applications.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent utilizes high-frequency vibration of the fluid jet stream through ultrasonic or piezoelectric actuators. This mechanical vibration creates cavitation bubbles and shock waves that enhance tissue disruption effectiveness while allowing lower overall pressure compared to continuous jets, thereby reducing harmful effects on surrounding tissues and improving cell viability.
2Productivity
If interrupted fluid stream is used to increase tissue destruction efficiency, then tissue ablation improves, but mechanical interruption devices are limited in speed resulting in inefficient droplet or slug formation
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces mechanical interruption devices with ultrasonic or piezoelectric actuators that use high-frequency vibration to interrupt and pulse the fluid jet. This substitution enables interruption speeds in the ultrasonic range (20-100 kHz), far exceeding the capabilities of mechanical devices, and creates fine droplet formation through vibrational atomization rather than coarse slug formation.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent employs ultrasonic vibration to achieve rapid fluid stream interruption and droplet formation. The high-frequency mechanical vibration (20-100 kHz) creates efficient droplet atomization and pulsed jet patterns that dramatically improve tissue ablation efficiency compared to slower mechanical interruption methods.
3Quantity of substance
If conventional liposuction is used for cellular therapy, then mesenchymal stem cells can be harvested, but extensive post-harvest processing is required and cell viability may be compromised
Solution Approach 1:
The patent performs preliminary tissue disruption and cell release during the harvesting procedure itself through pulsed fluid jets and cavitation. This preliminary action breaks down tissue structures and releases cells in situ before aspiration, eliminating the need for extensive post-harvest processing such as digestion, filtration, and centrifugation, thereby reducing processing time and preserving cell viability.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent uses pulsed fluid jets and cavitation bubbles as intermediaries to facilitate gentle tissue disruption and cell release. These intermediary mechanisms allow for effective cell harvest without the need for harsh chemical digests or mechanical processing that would compromise cell viability, enabling direct aspiration of viable cells.
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 system achieves efficient emulsification of adipose tissue, releasing viable mesenchymal stem cells and other cell types, allowing for selective aspiration and reducing post-harvest processing time, making it suitable for regenerative medicine and other surgical disciplines.
Implementation Method 1
an ultrasonic transducer apparatus in the form of an elongate acoustic horn member configured to generate ultrasonic vibrations within the handpiece apparatus
Implementation Method 2
relies upon the relative incompressibility of water to deliver a percussive stream of droplets to dissociate the target tissue... delivers this energy to the target tissue upon impact, resulting in a 'water hammer' effect
Implementation Method 3
a suction system to recover the dissociated tissue
Data Source
AI summary
An ultrasonically pulsating high-pressure fluid jet coupled with a suction system serve as a tissue harvesting device. The pulsated fluid jet disrupts tissue, permitting both harvesting of cells for therapeutic delivery, and as a surgical dissector and aspirator, for liposuction, soft tissue dissection, etc. The jet is delivered to the target tissue through a cannula, coupled to an aspiration system. An ultrasonically actuated rod vibrates within the cannula engaging a nozzle, disrupting the fluid jet into droplets, permitting tuning of the jet to the resonant frequencies and impact pressures necessary to dissociate the target tissue. A suction recovery system may be separated or integrally formed with the fluid jet cannula, and is linked by a closed tubing system appropriate for sterilization and subsequent delivery of the harvested cells/tissues with or without growth factor or matrix addition for human re-implantation or for in vitro expansion for later re-implantation.