Shoulder Implant Stabilizing Rotator Cuff via Scaffold
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current treatments for rotator cuff tendon injuries, such as those in the shoulder, often fail to effectively repair or strengthen the tendon, leading to further damage or instability in the shoulder joint.
Innovation Solution
A medical implant with a humeral head attachment region, a glenoid attachment region, and a rotator cuff tendon attachment region, designed to be attached to the humeral head, glenoid, and rotator cuff tendon respectively, providing structural support and stability to the shoulder joint.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Object-affected harmful factors
If current procedures are used to alleviate impingement or make room for movement, then discomfort is relieved, but the tendon is not repaired or strengthened
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a biological tissue scaffold as an intermediary substance that fills the defect in the rotator cuff tendon. This scaffold serves as a mediator between the damaged tendon areas, providing structural support and enabling healing while relieving impingement symptoms. The scaffold acts as the missing component that allows the tendon to function properly without causing discomfort.
2Strength
If biological tissue scaffolds are used to reinforce degenerated rotator cuff tendons, then tendon reinforcement is achieved, but clinical outcomes are variable due to chronicity and degree of degeneration
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality by designing a scaffold with specific structural characteristics tailored to the local defect in the rotator cuff tendon. The scaffold includes a porous structure with controlled pore size and distribution that matches the local tissue requirements, providing reinforcement where needed while maintaining flexibility. This localized optimization addresses the variability in clinical outcomes by customizing the scaffold properties to match the specific degeneration pattern.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent employs composite materials by combining biological tissue scaffold with structural support elements. The scaffold is constructed using composite construction techniques that integrate multiple materials or layers, creating a structure that provides both reinforcement and biological compatibility. This composite approach ensures consistent clinical outcomes by creating a unified structure that addresses both the mechanical weakness and biological requirements of the damaged tendon.
3Stability of the object's composition
If superior capsule reconstruction is used to stabilize the joint, then joint stability is achieved, but the complexity of the procedure increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the essential function of joint stabilization from the complex superior capsule reconstruction procedure. Instead of performing the entire SCR procedure with multiple steps and components, the invention isolates the key function of providing structural support and stability, achieving it through a simpler scaffold implantation procedure. This extraction approach maintains joint stability while significantly reducing procedural complexity.
Data Source
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AI summary
A medical implant for treating a shoulder joint. The implant includes a humeral head attachment region configured to be attached to a humeral head of the shoulder joint, a glenoid attachment region configured to be attached to a glenoid of the shoulder joint, and a rotator cuff tendon attachment region configured to be attached to a rotator cuff tendon of the shoulder joint.