Design of Laser-Assisted Automatic Continuous Distraction Osteogenesis Device for Oral and Maxillofacial Reconstruction Applications

Distraction Osteogenesis (DO) is a novel limb lengthening technique for bone tissue reconstruction in human. The DO method has got an important role in Maxillofacial Reconstruction Applications (MRA) for reconstruction of skeletal deformities and bone defects. Recently, the application of Automatic Continuous Distraction Osteogenesis (ACDO) devices are emerging; for enabling an automatic and enhanced DO procedure while achieving superior results in terms of bone formation and consolidation quality, compared to conventional manual methods. It has shown that developed ACDO devices could fulfill technical features while providing an automatic continuous procedure based on the standard DO protocol. One of the main limitations in developed ACDO devices is limited distraction vector; in which the positioning of the Bone Segment (BS) has been limited to one-axis or specifically designed curve-linear paths. Enabling moving the BS in more than one axis, while the positioning of the BS is automatically and precisely controlled, could enhance the outcome of the DO treatment and expand the application of this novel reconstruction technique. In addition, using laser therapy during the treatment would enhance the bone formation quality. In this paper, a two-axes automatic continuous controller for using in a novel ACDO device is designed. Design specifications and simulation results have validated the functionality of the proposed system. By using the designed controller as well as the intra-oral distractor, applying two continuous forces onto the BS, and moving the BS in linear and curve-linear paths is possible. The application of developed ACDO devices are still limited to experimental and animal studies. More research and investigations need to be done to fulfill this gap and solve existing limitations; for enabling an ultimate ACDO procedure in human MRA.