Tympanic Membrane Repair Device With Securement Member
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current medical devices for repairing tympanic membrane perforations lack sufficient structural support to maintain placement without gel-packing material, and they do not provide options for patients who cannot undergo general anesthesia.
Innovation Solution
The development of medical devices comprising an overlay member, an underlay member, and a securement member, where the overlay member has arms and passageways, and the underlay member has slits and passageways, allowing for securement through these features to provide structural support and facilitate placement in a perforation without the need for gel-packing material, and can be used in patients not suitable for general anesthesia.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If conventional gel-packing material is used to secure the repair graft, then the graft can be held in place during healing, but the procedure requires general anesthesia and gel material that may cause complications
Solution Approach 1:
The patent removes the gel-packing material from the system entirely, replacing it with a self-supporting medical device structure. The device includes an overlay member, underlay member, and securement member that work together to hold the graft in place without requiring gel material, thereby eliminating the need for general anesthesia and expanding patient eligibility.
Solution Approach 2:
The medical device is designed to be self-supporting and self-securing. The overlay member and underlay member are configured to maintain the graft in place through their structural design, with securement members that anchor the device to the tympanic membrane without requiring external gel material or surgical intervention beyond local anesthesia.
2Adaptability or versatility
If medical devices are developed to treat perforations without gel-packing material, then patient eligibility is expanded, but the devices lack sufficient structural support to maintain placement
Solution Approach 1:
The medical device employs composite construction with an overlay member and underlay member made from different materials with complementary properties. The overlay member provides structural rigidity and shape maintenance, while the underlay member offers flexibility and conformability to the tympanic membrane surface, together providing sufficient structural support without gel material.
Solution Approach 2:
The device is divided into multiple functional segments: an overlay member for structural support, an underlay member for conformability and securing, and securement members for anchoring. This segmentation allows each component to be optimized for its specific function, collectively providing the necessary structural strength to maintain graft placement.
3Strength
If a securement mechanism is added to the medical device, then structural support is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The securement members are integrated directly into the overlay and underlay members, combining the structural support function with the securing function in a unified design. This merging approach provides the necessary structural strength while avoiding the need for separate, complex securing mechanisms, thereby limiting the increase in device complexity.
Data Source
AI summary
Medical devices for repairing defects in tissue, such as perforations in the tympanic membrane of an animal, methods of manufacturing medical devices, methods of implanting a medical device in a defect in a tissue; and methods of repairing a defect in a tissue are described. In one form, a medical device includes an overlay member having multiple arms and defining an overlay member passageway, an underlay member having multiple flaps and defining an underlay member passageway, and a securement member extending through the overlay member passageway and the underlay member passageway. In methods, the multiple flaps of the underlay member can be sequentially advanced into a defect in a tissue, such as a perforation in a tympanic membrane of an animal.