JPS63500221A - Internally applied self-energizing healing electrodes - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Summary] This bulletin contains application data before electronic filing, so abstract data is not recorded.

Description

[Detailed description of the invention] The present invention is useful for regenerating living tissue and alleviating pain, as well as for electrically achieving such purposes. The present invention relates to a device for achieving this through the use of energy.

The human body, and also the bodies of animals, have a very amazing innate healing mechanism, For example, even if the wound is quite deep, a considerable amount of tissue regeneration can be seen within 7 days. This minimizes the risk of disturbing infections for patients (including animals). However However, infections from surgical wounds or trauma can often be life-threatening. Because it has sex! Some type of device that speeds up the regeneration of the fabric and thus reduces the risk of infection. The new location or method would represent an important advance in this field. such a device Or the method is age, food II]! regenerating tissue due to therapy or other factors. may have specific uses in relation to patients with substandard ability to

Studies have shown that passing a small electrical current near the inner pot can stimulate the patient's innate healing abilities even if Even in sub-par cases, it will speed up tissue regeneration and thus speed up pot anchorage. This is the result. The results of the study further show that the current in the vicinity of such a wound It has been shown that the drug is effective in alleviating the pain that patients experience.

An externally powered electrode generates an electric current near the fracture to promote bone formation. Bone growth stimulators used for this purpose are known.

The object of the invention is to use internally applied conductive or semi-conductive electrodes to It is an object of the present invention to provide a method and apparatus for supplying a small electric current in the vicinity of a wound. .

According to the invention, the device is adapted to be inserted at least partially into living tissue. two or more electrically conductive or semiconductive physiologically compatible electrodes and the first electrode is exposed to or covered with the first material and is adjacent to the first electrode. the electrodes are made of or coated with different materials, and the two electrodes are in contact with each other. When placed in adjacent living tissue, a small electrical current flows into the tissue between these electrodes. 2 or 2, such that a potential difference exists between said two electrodes causing a flow; More electrodes are provided.

The present invention is applicable not only to the field of promoting bone formation in the case of fractured bones, but also to the field of promoting bone formation in the case of fractured bones. The same applies when it is desired to hasten the healing of tissue wounds.

For a full understanding of the invention, two embodiments of the invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. This will be explained below.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a pair of electrodes of the present invention formed as a surgical needle staple. Ru.

Figure 2 shows a side view of a part of a human long bone incorporating the electrode of the present invention formed as a bottle. It is a diagram.

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of a long human bone incorporating an electrode according to the invention formed as a pin. It is.

[Explanation of specific examples]

FIG. 1 shows a surgical needle (stable) 1 having a first leg 2 and a second leg 3. Both legs are covered with a layer of plastic insulation material 4. The leg 2 is further Providing a gold coating 5, the legs 3 further include a zinc coating 6.

In use, the leg of the needle is inserted into the flexible tissue of the body (not shown), for example. It is inserted in a conventional manner on both sides of the wound line (not shown). The legs are for a period of time It becomes embedded in the body.

Once implanted in human tissue, the legs 2 and 3 begin to act as electrodes and remain in the body. The fluid present acts as an electrolyte. The leg part 2 can be used as an inert electrode due to its metal coating. The zinc coating 6 on the other leg 3 serves as an active or sacrificial electrode. and make it work. In this example utilizing gold and zinc, between legs 2 and 3 A potential difference of 2.12 volts is created, causing a current to flow across the flaw line (not shown). Close. Several combinations of physiologically compatible electrode materials are available; Regarding this, the coating that creates a potential difference and generates an electric current is not necessarily a metal. may be any other element or chemical compound that creates a potential difference. is planned. Of course, metals, elements or compounds are physiologically compatible. Must be. However, a lot of research has been done in this field in recent years, so this technique is Numerous alternative combinations will also be readily apparent to those skilled in the art. for example, Lithium iodide batteries are well known and may have application in certain embodiments of the present invention. .

The rate of decay of the active electrode can be controlled by including an inert material in the coating 6 or otherwise. can be reduced by means of

According to current research, approximately 40 to 300 Microamps give good results and on the other hand can be used as a bone growth stimulator. For specific examples intended for It has been shown to have fruitful results.

In addition, since the conductivity of bone is generally lower than the conductivity of the body, bone growth stimulators In the case of Please acknowledge that there may be times when a phase difference is necessary.

The electrode according to the invention has a range of It is observed that it should be capable of supplying a current in the range of 1 to 500 microamps. be done. The electrode material is correctly selected according to galvanic tables or similar criteria. For example, a potential difference of about α01 to 3 volts should be easily achieved.

Figure 1 shows the electrical current generated by a single needle when it is implanted into the body. Figure 5 shows an example in which the two legs of the needle are coated with different materials. Similar results are obtained by alternating The needles are made or coated with different materials such that a potential difference is created between adjacent needle volumes. It should be appreciated that this can also be achieved by inserting multiple needles.

In a second embodiment of the present invention, the proximal portion 7 and the distal portion 8 on both sides of a fractured part 90 of a human long bone are shown. This is shown in FIGS. 2 and 3. Compensate for correct alignment of osteogenic posterior Therefore, it is customary to bin the proximal and distal parts of the bone in the correct relationship. . For this purpose, holes 10 are drilled into the bone to facilitate the insertion of the bottles 11 and 12. Ru.

According to the principle of non-invention, these bottles are composed of dissimilar materials that exhibit potential differences. or coated with such material. This potential difference is A current is passed along the fracture 9 in the area between the bottles 11 and 12 to form a pond. this The bottle may be fully or partially a sacrificial electrode. Therefore, the last mentioned The specific example is that the mechanical installation of bottles and screws, and the installation of the bone growth stimulator are To make the surgical procedure a straightforward surgical procedure with little more complexity than the mere placement of fixation means. Conventionally, If sufficient bone formation has not occurred within 6 weeks, the electrodes and communication with the external power supply The reality is that a separate surgical procedure is required to place the leads necessary to there were. Of course, these electrodes require further surgery to remove. And so.

These two additional additions to the surgical procedure required to install the mechanical fixation means Surgery necessarily poses additional risks to the patient and requires unnecessary costs. .

The two examples mentioned above should not be considered the entire application of the invention. fruit In some cases, the electrodes of the present invention may be used in the form of bottles, screws, disks, wires, plugs or needles. Mechanical fixation means used on the human body, such as It is not required that the For example, the electrode of the present invention can be combined with, for example, a conventional screw. You could configure the washer to be used instead! The poles are buried completely independently of other equipment. It can also be embedded. Note that the living tissue used here includes bone.

FIGtJ"RE 1 FIGURE 2 Procedural amendment (formality) November 4, 1986 Kunio Patent Forgery Officer person who makes corrections Relationship to the incident: Patent applicant full name Tank Day Gray, Nonyl Desmond

Claims (6)

[Claims] (1) adapted to be inserted at least partially into living tissue and conductive or semiconductive; consisting of two or more electrically conductive, physiologically compatible electrodes; the poles are made of or coated with a first material and are arranged adjacent to each other; The electrodes are made of or coated with different materials, and the electrodes are placed adjacent to each other within the living tissue. When placed, a potential difference exists between the electrodes that conducts a small electrical current into the tissue between the electrodes. A treatment auxiliary device characterized in that it is configured to: (2) When the material used to manufacture the electrode or the material covering the electrode is implanted in the body. and the electrodes are selected to set a current between 1 and 500 microamps. The therapeutic stimulation device according to item 1. (3) one or more of the electrodes is connected to a conventional bone fixation device such as a pin or screw; 3. A therapeutic stimulation device according to any one of claims 1 to 2, which is integral with the stage. (4) The electrode is integrated with a soft tissue such as a needle (stable) and an article conventionally used. A therapeutic stimulation device according to any one of claims 1-2. (5) at least one of the electrodes is adapted for use with conventional surgical screws; The therapeutic stimulation device according to any one of claims 1 to 2, which is a washer. (6) In the method of implanting the bone growth stimulator of the present invention, (a) Claim 1 Selecting at least two electrodes according to any one of items 5 to 5, (b) implanting the electrode at least partially within the body adjacent to the wound area, Conducting a current of 0 microampere between the electrodes and in close proximity to the wound area. A bone stimulator implantation method characterized by: