Claims
- 1. A device for expanding a patient's soft tissue, said device comprising a dome adapted for placement in a sealing condition over a soft tissue site desired to be enlarged, said dome comprising a layer of memory material.
- 2. The device of claim 1 further comprising a sticky layer extending across the interior of said dome for providing the sealing condition of said dome to said soft tissue site.
- 3. The device of claim 2 further comprising a liner, said liner being secured inside of said layer of memory material, said liner being adapted to provide a surface for said sticky layer, said sticky layer being provided by surface tension.
- 4. The device of claim 2 wherein said sticky layer comprises a layer of adhesive material.
- 5. The device of claim 2 further comprising a fluid layer located between the layer of memory material and said sticky layer, said fluid layer minimizing any lateral stress force between the layer of memory material and said soft tissue.
- 6. The device of claim 2 wherein said memory material comprises a shape memory alloy having its transition temperature set at about normal human body surface temperature.
- 7. The device of claim 2 wherein said layer of memory material comprises a weave of memory material.
- 8. The device of claim 7 wherein said weave of memory material is formed of a plurality of individual fibers of said memory material, each of said fibers comprising a complex fiber.
- 9. The device of claim 7 wherein said weave of memory material is formed of a plurality of relatively thin strips of said memory material.
- 10. The device of claim 7 further comprising a ring positioned generally about the periphery of said dome, said weave of memory material extending across said ring and said ring defining the soft tissue site to be enlarged when sealed to said patient's soft tissue.
- 11. The device of claim 8 further comprising an electronic circuit, and wherein a selected number of said fibers are electrically connected to said electronic circuit to permit their separate transition from one physical arrangement to another.
- 12. The device of claim 10 wherein said ring is integrally formed as part of said dome.
- 13. The device of claim 12 wherein said ring is made of material other than memory material.
- 14. A bra for enlarging a patient's breast size, said bra comprising at least one dome for adhering to one of said patient's breasts, said dome comprising a layer of memory material.
- 15. The device of claim 14 further comprising a sticky layer extending across the interior of said at least one dome providing the sealing condition of said at least one dome to said patient's breast.
- 16. The bra of claim 15 further comprising a liner, said liner being secured inside of said layer of memory material, said liner being adapted to provide a surface for said sticky layer.
- 17. The bra of claim 15 further comprising a fluid layer located between the layer of memory material and said sticky layer, said fluid layer minimizing any lateral stress force between the layer of memory material and said breast.
- 18. The bra of claim 15 wherein said layer of memory material comprises a weave of memory material.
- 19. The bra of claim 18 wherein said memory material comprises a shape memory alloy having its transition temperature set at about normal human body surface temperature.
- 20. The bra of claim 18 further comprising an electronic circuit, and wherein a selected portion of said weave is electrically connected to said electronic circuit to permit its separate transition from one physical arrangement to another.
- 21. The bra of claim 18 further comprising a ring positioned generally about the periphery of said dome, said weave of memory material extending across said ring and said ring defining the portion of said patient's breast to be enlarged when adhered to said patient's breast.
- 22. The bra of claim 21 wherein said ring is integrally formed as part of said dome.
- 23. The bra of claim 22 further comprising a fluid layer located between the layer of memory material and said sticky layer, said fluid layer minimizing any lateral stress force between the layer of memory material and said breast.
- 24. The bra of claim 23 wherein said bra includes a pair of said domes.
- 25. The bra of claim 24 wherein said bra further comprises a surface for counterbalancing any stress forces created by said memory material.
- 26. The bra of claim 25 wherein said memory material is secured to said fluid layer.
- 27. The bra of claim 26 wherein said memory material is sandwiched between a pair of layers of expandable material.
- 28. The bra of claim 27 wherein said memory material comprises a shape memory alloy having its transition temperature set at about normal human body surface temperature.
- 29. A method of enlarging a patient's soft tissue comprising the steps of adhering a layer of memory material to a surface of the soft tissue desired to be enlarged, said layer of memory material being biased into a first physical arrangement, causing said memory material to move into a second physical arrangement to thereby create a tensile force in said soft tissue, and maintaining said tensile force throughout a sufficient treatment regimen to thereby enlarge said soft tissue.
- 30. The method of claim 29 further comprising the step of biasing the memory material by lowering its temperature below normal human body surface temperature, and wherein the step of causing the movement of said memory material into the second physical arrangement comprises permitting the patient's body to elevate the temperature of said memory material to approximately body surface temperature, said memory material having its transition temperature set within a range of between about 10 degrees below to about normal human body surface temperature.
- 31. The method of claim 30 wherein the step of adhering said memory material includes the step of adhering with a layer of fluid sufficient to create an adequate surface tension between said soft tissue surface and said layer of memory material to maintain them in contact as said memory material transitions between said first and second physical arrangements and for at least a portion of said treatment regimen.
- 32. The method of claim 31 further comprising a fluid layer adhered to the layer of memory material, and wherein said fluid is applied between said fluid layer and said soft tissue surface to thereby adhere said layer of memory material to said soft tissue surface.
- 33. A method of adhering a soft tissue expander to a surface of soft tissue comprising applying a fluid between said expander and said soft tissue surface to thereby create a surface tension therebetween.
- 34. In a soft tissue expander having a surface adapted to be adhered to a soft tissue site throughout a treatment regimen, the improvement comprising a fluid placed between said surface and said soft tissue site to thereby create a surface tension therebetween.
- 35. The device of claim 34 wherein said soft tissue expander comprises a fluid layer, the fluid thereby being placed on said fluid layer to thereby adhere said fluid layer to said soft tissue site.
- 36. The device of claim 35 wherein said soft tissue expander further comprises a layer of memory material for inducing a tensile stress in said soft tissue site, said fluid layer being adhered to said memory material layer.
- 37. A bra for enlarging the breast size of a patient, said bra including a pair of domes for fitting to the pair of said patient's breasts, each of said domes being made of a shape memory alloy weave woven of complex fibers, a fluid layer adhered to the inside surface of each of said domes, and an adhesive layer applied to the inside layer of each of said fluid layers so that each of said domes may be adhered to one of said breasts as said shape memory alloy is in a first physical configuration and which will exert a tensional force on each of said breasts as said shape memory alloy returns to an original configuration.
- 38. The bra of claim 37 wherein said adhesive layer comprises a layer of an adhesive.
- 39. The bra of claim 37 wherein said adhesive layer comprises a layer of moisture sufficient to create an adhesive force with surface tension.
- 40. A device for expanding a patient's soft tissue, said device comprising a frame adapted for attachment to a soft tissue site desired to be expanded, said frame comprising at least one frame member which is inflatable to expand the frame and induce a distractive force in the underlying soft tissue site.
- 41. The device of claim 40 wherein said frame is comprised of a plurality of inflatable frame members, and further comprising a peripheral restraint surrounding said frame to restrict lateral movement of said frame as the frame members are inflated.
- 42. The device of claim 41 wherein said frame members are arranged in a plurality of polygons.
- 43. The device of claim 41 further comprising a stabilizer rod contained within at least one of said frame members and positioned to control the movement of said frame member as it is inflated.
- 44. The device of claim 41 wherein said frame members are arranged in an asymmetric shape.
- 45. The device of claim 41 wherein said frame members are formed from a bellows material to allow for their expansion and contraction in response to their inflation and deflation, respectively.
- 46. The device of claim 40 wherein said frame is comprised of a plurality of interconnected generally spherically shaped cells.
- 47. The device of claim 46 further comprising at least one membrane attached to said frame and extending over a substantial portion thereof.
- 48. The device of claim 47 further comprising a second membrane, said frame being sandwiched between said membranes, and one of said membranes being adhered to the underlying soft tissue.
- 49. The device of claim 48 further comprising at least one reinforcing rod contained within said frame.
- 50. The device of claim 49 further comprising a plurality of reinforcing rods contained within said frame, one of said rods being contained within substantially each of the cells comprising the frame.
- 51. The device of claim 40 further comprising at least one membrane attached to said frame and extending over a substantial portion thereof.
- 52. The device of claim 51 further comprising a second membrane, said frame being sandwiched between said membranes, and one of said membranes being adhered to the underlying soft tissue.
- 53. The device of claim 52 further comprising a fluid substantially filling said space between said membranes.
- 54. A device for expanding soft tissue, said device comprising an inflatable frame contained within two membranes, one of said membranes being adapted for attachment to the underlying tissue.
- 55. The device of claim 54 further comprising a peripheral restrictor surrounding said frame.
- 56. The device of claim 55 wherein said frame is comprised of a plurality of frame members, at least one of which is inflatable.
- 57. The device of claim 55 wherein said frame is comprised of a plurality of cells, said cells being interconnected and inflatable.
- 58. The device of claim 57 further comprising a plurality of mechanical supports contained within said frame cells to restrict their movement as the frame is inflated.
- 59. The device of claim 56 wherein said frame members are arranged in a plurality of polygons.
RELATED APPLICATION
[0001] This application is a continuation-in-part application of U.S. application Ser. No. 09/203,832 filed Dec. 1, 1998.
Continuations (1)
|
Number |
Date |
Country |
Parent |
09673220 |
Jul 2001 |
US |
Child |
09878729 |
Jun 2001 |
US |
Continuation in Parts (1)
|
Number |
Date |
Country |
Parent |
09203832 |
Dec 1998 |
US |
Child |
PCT/US99/28484 |
Dec 1999 |
US |