Device for providing a portion of an organism with a desired shape
First Claim
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1. A breast prosthesis comprising:
- a body member made of biocompatible material, said body member having a plurality of separately inflatable chambers, said body member having an upper side positionable along an upper surface of a breast and a lower side positionable along a lower side of the breast, said chambers including a first chamber disposed only on said upper side and a second chamber disposed only on said lower side; and
a plurality of fluid guide elements, wherein the fluid guide elements comprise a plurality of one-way valves each operatively connected to a respective individual ones of said chambers for enabling a differential filling of said chambers with a fluid so that said first chamber and said second have respective different shapes.
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Abstract
A method of breast reconstruction utilizes a breast prosthesis having a plurality of chambers or compartments distributed through a body member or shell in the form of a breast. The chambers are disposed along the superior, lateral and inferior surfaces, as well as in the interior, of the body member. The chambers are differentially pressurized or filled in order to control the shape of the prosthesis upon implantation thereof. Valves are provided for regulating the flow of fluid into and from the chambers. The prosthesis and the fill levels of the respective chambers may be selected by computer.
123 Citations
14 Claims
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1. A breast prosthesis comprising:
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a body member made of biocompatible material, said body member having a plurality of separately inflatable chambers, said body member having an upper side positionable along an upper surface of a breast and a lower side positionable along a lower side of the breast, said chambers including a first chamber disposed only on said upper side and a second chamber disposed only on said lower side; and
a plurality of fluid guide elements, wherein the fluid guide elements comprise a plurality of one-way valves each operatively connected to a respective individual ones of said chambers for enabling a differential filling of said chambers with a fluid so that said first chamber and said second have respective different shapes. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)
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10. A prosthesis comprising:
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a body member made of biocompatible material, said body member having a plurality of separately inflatable chambers;
a plurality of fluid guide elements each operatively connected to a respective individual one of said chambers, thereby enabling a differential filling of said chambers with a fluid; and
a plurality of one-way valves each disposed between two adjacent chambers for enabling a transfer of fluid from one of said adjacent chambers to another of said adjacent chambers upon an application of an external compressive force to said one of said adjacent chambers, to increase a fill level in said one of said chambers. - View Dependent Claims (11, 12, 13)
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14. A prosthesis comprising:
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a body member made of biocompatible material, said body member having a plurality of separately inflatable chambers;
a plurality of fluid guide elements each operatively connected to a respective individual one of said chambers, thereby enabling a differential filling of said chambers with a fluid, said guide elements including a plurality of valves;
a wireless receiver; and
an actuator mechanism mounted to said body member, said actuator mechanism being operatively linked to said receiver and said guide elements for selectively opening said valves in accordance with a signal picked up by said receiver.
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Specification