Variable Cohesive Gel Breast Implant Shape Stability
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current breast implants often experience undesirable shape alterations such as wrinkling, knuckling, and scalloping post-implantation due to instability, especially when the patient changes position, leading to aesthetically undesirable creases and deformation.
Innovation Solution
A variable cohesive gel form-stable implant with altered gel cohesiveness is used, where the degree of cross-linking in the gel filler is manipulated to provide shape retention characteristics, reducing or eliminating deformation by varying the cohesiveness around the perimeter and base regions of the implant.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Volume of moving object
If the prosthesis is filled with fluid or gel, then the implant provides volume and shape, but the weight of the filling material causes downward pulling that creates creases and scalloping effects
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality by creating a shell with non-uniform thickness distribution. The superior portion of the shell has increased thickness compared to other regions, providing localized structural support specifically where needed to counteract the downward pulling of the gel filler and prevent scalloping and crease formation at the superior aspect of the implant.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent employs composite materials by combining a silicone gel filler with a differentially thickened silicone rubber shell. The composite structure integrates the volume-providing gel with the shape-stabilizing shell, where the varying shell thickness creates a composite system that maintains implant form while accommodating the filler material.
2Stability of the object's composition
If the shell wall is thickened in the superior portion to prevent wrinkles, then form stability is improved, but the device complexity and manufacturing difficulty increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies parameter changes by modifying the geometric parameter of shell thickness as a function of position. The shell thickness is varied continuously or discretely across different regions of the implant, with the superior portion having greater thickness. This parameter variation achieves form stability while the patent acknowledges this may increase manufacturing 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 solution effectively maintains the implant's shape and reduces or eliminates wrinkling, knuckling, and scalloping, ensuring a more stable and aesthetically pleasing breast shape even when the patient changes position.
Implementation Method 1
A variable cohesive gel form-stable implant with altered gel cohesiveness is used, where the degree of cross-linking in the gel filler is manipulated to provide shape retention characteristics
Implementation Method 2
the degree of cross-linking in the gel filler is manipulated to provide shape retention characteristics, reducing or eliminating deformation
Data Source
AI summary
A variable cohesive gel form stabilizing implant is provided for augmentation or reconstruction of the breast. The prosthesis includes a shell filled with a gel having variations in cohesiveness to maintain stable form, shape, and dimension after surgical implantation.