Sinus Scaffolds for Local Drug Delivery and Patency
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current treatments for chronic rhinosinusitis (CRS) often involve invasive surgeries like FESS, which come with risks and side effects, and there is a need for a local and sustained anti-inflammatory drug delivery method that can avoid surgery and improve sinus patency.
Innovation Solution
Development of sinus scaffolds with fiber-based and non-fiber-based designs for implantation in sinus cavities, capable of delivering therapeutic agents over a brief or extended period, which can stabilize sinus openings, reduce inflammation, and prevent tissue adhesion, thereby serving as an alternative to surgery or enhancing postoperative care.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If Functional Endoscopic Sinus Surgery (FESS) is performed to improve sinus patency and drainage, then sinus openings are enlarged and ventilation is restored, but surgery-associated risks, post-operative pain, and complications such as inflammation, swelling, and synechiae occur
Solution Approach 1:
A sinus scaffold is introduced as an intermediary device between surgical intervention and natural sinus function. The scaffold stabilizes sinus openings and prevents tissue adhesion without requiring extensive bone removal or tissue disruption, thereby achieving sinus patency while minimizing surgery-associated risks and complications
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces the mechanical trauma of FESS (bone removal, tissue debridement) with a less invasive approach using a scaffold that mechanically supports sinus openings and prevents adhesion through its structural presence rather than through aggressive mechanical intervention
2Reliability
If topical corticosteroids are used to reduce inflammation in CRS, then anti-inflammatory effect is achieved, but the treatment is not sustained enough to prevent disease recurrence
Solution Approach 1:
Therapeutic agents are pre-loaded onto the sinus scaffold before implantation, ensuring that anti-inflammatory medication is immediately available at the site of inflammation. This preliminary preparation allows sustained drug delivery over time, preventing disease recurrence
Solution Approach 2:
The scaffold provides continuous localized delivery of therapeutic agents directly to the sinus cavity, maintaining consistent anti-inflammatory action throughout the treatment period rather than requiring repeated intermittent applications
3Ease of operation
If sinus packing is performed postoperatively to stabilize sinus openings, then sinus patency is maintained, but packing materials cause discomfort and require removal
Solution Approach 1:
The sinus scaffold is designed to be self-retaining through its structural characteristics, eliminating the need for external fixation or surgical removal. The scaffold stabilizes sinus openings while gradually resorbing or being expelled naturally, providing patient comfort and eliminating the harmful effects of traditional packing removal
Data Source
AI summary
This disclosure describes, inter alia, materials, devices, kits and methods that may be used to treat chronic sinusitis. More specifically, a drug-eluting scaffold is implanted in the middle meatus to treat chronic sinusitis for weeks to months.