Shape-Memory Stent for Gastrectomy Suture Protection
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Solution Overview
Problem
Patients who have undergone gastrectomy face challenges such as inflammation and reopening of the suture region due to food contact, along with nutrient absorption imbalances leading to obesity, as existing stents fail to effectively prevent food-bile interaction and support the healing process.
Innovation Solution
A stent comprising a shape-memory alloy with diamond-shaped openings, coated with medical films made of PTFE or silicone, is implanted to prevent food contact with the stomach suture region, guiding food directly into the duodenum to minimize nutrient absorption and support the healing process, while being removable once the suture region heals.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If a gastrectomy is performed to reduce stomach capacity for weight loss, then the patient's appetite is controlled and satiety is achieved, but the suture region becomes vulnerable to inflammation and reopening when food contacts it
Solution Approach 1:
A stent is introduced as an intermediary device between the food and the suture region. The stent creates a physical barrier that prevents direct contact between food and the vulnerable suture area, allowing the suture region to heal without inflammation while maintaining the weight loss benefits of gastrectomy.
Solution Approach 2:
The stent is constructed with a flexible cylindrical structure that can conform to the stomach's anatomy. This flexible shell design allows the stent to protect the suture region effectively while adapting to the patient's physiological movements and stomach shape changes.
2Productivity
If food passes through the stomach and mixes with bile or pancreatic juice in the duodenum, then digestion occurs, but the duodenum absorbs excessive nutrients leading to obesity
Solution Approach 1:
The stent divides the gastrointestinal tract into separate functional zones. By creating distinct pathways and compartments, the stent prevents food from mixing with bile and pancreatic juice in the duodenum, thereby reducing nutrient absorption while allowing digestion to proceed in controlled segments.
Solution Approach 2:
The stent extracts or removes the mixing function from the duodenum by preventing food-bile contact. This separation eliminates the harmful nutrient absorption pathway while preserving essential digestive functions in other regions of the gastrointestinal tract.
3Reliability
If a stent is implanted to protect the suture region, then food contact is prevented and inflammation is reduced, but the device adds complexity to the treatment and requires additional removal procedures
Solution Approach 1:
The stent is designed as a temporary, disposable device intended for short-term use during the critical healing period. After protecting the suture region for the necessary duration, the stent is removed in a straightforward procedure, avoiding long-term device complexity and complications.
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 stent effectively prevents suture region inflammation, reduces treatment time, and minimizes nutrient absorption, thereby aiding in weight management and healing post-gastrectomy by ensuring food bypasses the stomach and interacts only with the duodenum, reducing obesity risks.
Implementation Method 1
a stent which comprises a shape-memory alloy
Data Source
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AI summary
Disclosed herein is a stent (10) implanted in the body of a patient. The stent includes a hollow cylindrical stent body (15) which is made of a super-elastic shape memory alloy and has an expanded diameter part (13) on one end thereof, and a support stent (30) which has an elastic spherical structure and is fitted over the cylindrical stent body behind the expanded diameter part. The stent is implanted in the body such that food that has passed through the stomach is prevented from mixing with bile or pancreatic juice in the duodenum and moves directly into the small intestine to prevent the duodenum from absorbing nutrients of the food while the small intestine directly digests the food and absorbs the nutrients, thus minimizing a nutrient absorption rate, thereby preventing the obesity of the patient.