Trabecular Bone-Mimicking Implant Surface for Faster Bone Integration
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing implant devices lack effective features to enhance osteoinductivity for new bone growth, necessitating additional bone grafts and osteoinductive agents for stabilization and fusion.
Innovation Solution
The implant device features bone growth surfaces mimicking trabecular bone with trenches, grooves, or prominences having nano-scale features, created by femtosecond laser etching, to enhance osteoinductivity, using titanium alloy that forms titanium oxide for improved bone integration.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If traditional smooth bone growth surfaces are used on implant devices, then manufacturing is simpler and cost is lower, but osteoinductivity and new bone growth formation are insufficient
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies porous materials by creating a network of interconnected pores and channels on the implant surface, mimicking the trabecular bone structure. This porous configuration increases surface area and provides pathways for bone ingrowth, significantly enhancing osteoinductivity while maintaining structural integrity
Solution Approach 2:
The patent incorporates curved and rounded surface features instead of sharp angles, creating organic trabecular-like structures. The curved channels and rounded pores facilitate bone cell migration and attachment, improving bone growth formation while maintaining aesthetic and biological relevance
2Reliability
If additional bone grafts and osteoinductive agents are used to enhance bone growth, then bone fusion is improved, but surgical complexity and cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
The implant surface is designed to be self-osteinductive, utilizing the porous trabecular-like structure to naturally attract and support bone growth without requiring additional bone grafts or osteoinductive agents. The surface itself provides the inductive properties needed for bone fusion
Solution Approach 2:
The patent merges the structural support function with the bone induction function into a single integrated implant surface. The porous trabecular-like structure simultaneously provides mechanical support and biological inductivity, eliminating the need for separate bone graft materials
3Reliability
If laser etching is used to create trabecular bone-mimicking surfaces, then osteoinductivity is enhanced, but manufacturing time and energy consumption increase
Solution Approach 1:
The laser etching process uses periodic pulsing to create the porous trabecular-like structure. By applying laser energy in controlled pulses rather than continuous mode, the process achieves precise surface modification with reduced overall energy consumption while maintaining the desired structural complexity
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 laser-etched trabecular bone-mimicking surfaces accelerate new bone formation and integration, reducing the need for additional bone grafts and enhancing long-term stability.
Implementation Method 1
The one or more bone growth surfaces are produced by a subtraction laser etching process in which the surface of the implant has discernable features of structural elements
Implementation Method 2
The metal material when exposed to the laser exhibits an increased oxidation at the surface chemically altering the material to enhance osteoinductivity for new bone growth formation when implanted. The titanium alloy is preferably made with 90 percent titanium, 6 percent aluminum and 4 percent vanadium and wherein the titanium oxidation created by the laser alters the chemical structure at the surface by forming titanium oxide
Data Source
AI summary
An implant device configured to be at least partially in contact with bone on implantation has an improved osteoinductive feature to enhance new bone formation. The implant device has one or more bone growth surfaces extending from a structurally solid feature of the implant device. The one or more bone growth surfaces are configured to mimic adult trabecular bone by having trenches, grooves or surface recesses or prominences exhibiting numerous structural elements or walls not perpendicular to the surface that are non-coplanar or arched extending 20 to 500 microns in depth having an increasing inclination from the surface extending inwardly and not parallel to opposing or adjacent walls forming a random or non-random network. The one or more bone growth surfaces configured to mimic trabecular bone have discernable nano features on the structural elements or walls exhibiting nano scale features of less than 200 nano meters within the network.