Subchondral Bone Augmentation via Percutaneous Needle Catheter
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current medical treatments for joint pain associated with osteoarthritis, such as high tibial osteotomy and total knee arthroplasty, are invasive, have limited durability, and often fail to provide consistent pain relief, especially when bone defects occur near joints, due to challenges in precisely delivering hardening materials and mechanical fixation devices.
Innovation Solution
Development of implantable devices and instruments that allow for precise, controlled injection of augmentation materials into bone, along with mechanical and biological treatments to stabilize and stimulate healing at the subchondral bone level, addressing pain at its source rather than just the articular surface.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If conventional treatments like high tibial osteotomy or total knee arthroplasty are used to treat joint pain, then pain relief may be achieved, but the treatments are invasive and have limited durability
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the essential therapeutic function from invasive surgical procedures by delivering bone hardening material percutaneously through needle catheters, separating the therapeutic effect from the invasive surgical intervention. This allows treatment of subchondral bone defects without performing osteotomy or arthroplasty, thereby improving durability while reducing invasiveness.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent uses needle catheters as intermediary devices to deliver bone hardening material to the subchondral bone defect site. This intermediary delivery system enables precise placement of therapeutic material without requiring open surgery or invasive joint replacement, resolving the contradiction between effective treatment and invasiveness.
2Strength
If hardening materials are injected to treat bone defects near joints, then bone strength is improved, but precise delivery of the material is challenging
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces traditional open surgical mechanical delivery systems with percutaneous needle catheter delivery. This substitution enables precise delivery of hardening material to subchondral bone defects through image-guided or fluoroscopically-guided needle placement, achieving accurate material placement without the complexity of open surgical delivery systems.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent uses fluid dynamics principles in the needle catheter design to control the delivery of bone hardening material. The catheter system utilizes pressure-controlled injection to ensure precise delivery of the material to the target site, preventing premature extrusion and ensuring accurate placement within the subchondral bone defect.
3Ease of operation
If percutaneous delivery of hardening material is used, then invasiveness is reduced, but control over material extrusion is lost
Solution Approach 1:
The patent incorporates dynamic control features in the needle catheter system, including movable stylets and controllable injection mechanisms that allow the operator to precisely control material extrusion timing and location. The system transitions from static to dynamic control, enabling minimally invasive delivery while maintaining full operator control over the hardening material placement.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements feedback control in the material delivery system through fluoroscopic or image guidance that allows real-time monitoring of needle catheter placement and material extrusion. This feedback mechanism enables the operator to adjust delivery parameters based on observed material flow and bone filling patterns, maintaining precise control despite the percutaneous approach.
Data Source
AI summary
Devices and associated methods are disclosed for treating bone, and particularly bone tissue at the joints. Disclosed are implantable devices that can be used either alone or in combination with this augmentation or hardening material for the repair of bone defects and which are particularly suited for use at the joints, and even more particularly suited for use at the subchondral bone level.