Segmented Bone Implant with Tissue Activators for Fracture Healing
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing bone implants fail to provide optimal tissue stretching for effective fracture healing, as they reduce bone movement and do not allow bone marrow formation, leading to impaired healing and prolonged recovery times.
Innovation Solution
A bone implant with tissue activators that divide the distance between bone fragments into smaller sections, allowing greater stretching and enabling bone marrow formation, while allowing free movement of bone fragments and optimizing stretching across the entire area, thus promoting healing and reducing recovery time.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Stability of the object's composition
If a rigid implant carrier is used to stabilize bone fragments, then the mechanical stability is improved, but the tissue stretching is reduced which impairs healing
Solution Approach 1:
The implant carrier is segmented into multiple sections with varying rigidity. The first and second sections have higher rigidity for stable bone fragment fixation, while the third intermediate section has lower rigidity to allow tissue stretching and deformation, thus resolving the contradiction between mechanical stability and tissue stretching capability
Solution Approach 2:
Different sections of the implant carrier are assigned different rigidity properties locally. The end sections maintain high rigidity for stability, while the intermediate section has reduced rigidity specifically where tissue stretching is needed, allowing each part to fulfill its specific function without compromising the other
2Force
If the implant carrier is made rigid to transmit forces, then the force transmission is improved, but the bone marrow formation is prevented
Solution Approach 1:
The implant carrier is divided into rigid force-transmitting sections and a flexible intermediate section. This segmentation allows force transmission through the rigid end sections while the flexible intermediate section permits bone marrow formation by allowing controlled deformation and creating space for marrow infiltration
Solution Approach 2:
The intermediate section is designed with porous or lattice structure that allows bone marrow to infiltrate and form within the implant carrier, while still maintaining sufficient mechanical strength for force transmission. This resolves the contradiction by enabling both force transmission and bone marrow formation
3Length of stationary object
If the distance between bone fragments is large, then the fracture gap is covered, but the tissue stretching is insufficient for healing stimulation
Solution Approach 1:
The intermediate section of the implant carrier is designed to be dynamically flexible rather than rigid. This flexibility allows the structure to deform and stretch under physiological loads, generating sufficient tissue stretching stimulation even when spanning large fracture gaps, thus resolving the contradiction between gap coverage and stretching adequacy
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 implant achieves optimal tissue expansion, enabling rapid and reliable bone healing, allowing for centimeter-sized lengthening in a single step, reducing the need for external fixators and minimizing pain associated with bone removal procedures.
Implementation Method 1
one or more spring-like elements are arranged at least between two tissue activators
Data Source
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AI summary
The invention relates to an implant (1) for modifying tissue deformation during bone healing between two bone fragments (5; 6), comprising a first end piece (2) that can be fastened to a first bone fragment (5) and has a longitudinal axis L1, and a second end piece (3) that can be fastened to a second bone fragment (6) and has a longitudinal axis L2, each of the first and the second end pieces (2; 3) being loosely engaged by means of n ≥ 1 tissue activators (4a; 4b) connected in parallel, and allowing a relative movement, and the tissue activators (4a; 4b) being arranged transversely to the longitudinal axes L1 and L2 and preferably orthogonally thereto.