Shape Memory Polymer Integrated Medical Fabric for Hernia Repair
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing hernia repair patches lack flexibility and customizable properties, with rigid shape memory metal alloys and non-customizable polymers limiting their effectiveness and adaptability to various surgical needs.
Innovation Solution
Integration of shape memory polymers (SMPs) with medical fabrics, such as polyester mesh and Gore-Tex, to create deformable and reformable hernia repair patches that can be tailored for specific applications, with customizable properties like variable stiffness and activation time, using formulations like 20 wt % PEGDMA with tert-butyl acrylate and a photoinitiator, and incorporating thiol and/or vinyl monomers or oligomers.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Strength
If shape memory metal alloys are used in hernia patches, then structural strength is improved, but flexibility and customizability are reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies parameter changes by transitioning from shape memory metal alloys to shape memory polymers, fundamentally altering the material's physical and chemical parameters. This enables customization of glass transition temperature, modulus, and other properties to match specific tissue requirements, while maintaining the shape memory effect and structural strength needed for hernia repair.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent employs composite materials by integrating shape memory polymers with surgical meshes and fabrics. This composite approach combines the strength and shape memory properties of the polymer with the mechanical durability and porosity of the mesh structure, achieving both structural integrity and tailored mechanical properties for different surgical applications.
2Ease of operation
If traditional polymers are used in hernia patches, then flexibility is improved, but activation time control and deployment precision are reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The patent utilizes parameter changes by precisely controlling the glass transition temperature and other thermal parameters of the shape memory polymer. This enables exact control over activation time and deployment temperature, allowing the patch to remain flexible during surgery but activate precisely when body temperature is reached, improving both ease of operation and manufacturing precision.
3Strength
If SMP thickness is increased to improve mechanical strength, then strength is improved, but porosity and tissue integration are reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality by varying the SMP thickness and distribution across different regions of the hernia patch. Thicker SMP layers provide enhanced mechanical strength in areas requiring support, while thinner regions maintain porosity and facilitate tissue integration. This spatial variation in material properties allows simultaneous optimization of strength and biological compatibility.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent employs composite materials by combining shape memory polymer with porous surgical mesh structures. The composite architecture allows the SMP to provide mechanical strength while the porous mesh maintains tissue ingrowth pathways, achieving both improved strength and preserved porosity through the synergistic combination of materials with complementary properties.
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 SMP-integrated fabrics provide enhanced mechanical strength, high strain-to-failure, and automatic deployment at body temperature, improving surgical efficiency and reducing complications by allowing precise control over activation time and deployment, while maintaining porosity and tissue integration.
Implementation Method 1
Shape memory materials are defined by their capacity to recover a predetermined shape after significant mechanical deformation. The shape memory effect is typically initiated by a change in temperature
Implementation Method 2
The shape memory polymer may be a 20 wt % PEGDMA with a Mn=1000 and remainder tert-butyl acrylate with 0.2-0.3 wt photoinitiator (2,2 dimethoxy-2-phenylacetopenone)
Data Source
AI summary
Formulations of shape memory polymer (SMP) are integrated with several existing clinically available medical fabrics. The SMP portion of a SMP integrated fabric can be fabricated in varying thicknesses with the minimum thickness determined by the thickness of the underlying fabric and up to almost any thickness. Integration of the SMP with the base fabrics does not alter the shape memory functionality of the SMP. The design tools for controlling activation rate for traditional SMP materials thus apply to SMP integrated fabrics. SMP integrated fabrics may also be steam sterilized without loss of shape memory functionality.