Adjustable Knotless Loops for Secure Soft Tissue Fixation
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Surgical procedures, especially minimally invasive ones, face challenges in securing sutures without knots, which are cumbersome and time-consuming, limiting efficiency in procedures like arthroscopic or laparoscopic surgeries.
Innovation Solution
The use of adjustable loops within a flexible construct that can be passed through tissues and locked in place using a locking member, eliminating the need for knots by reducing the loop size to secure tissues, thereby providing a strong and efficient fixation method.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If traditional knot-secured sutures are used, then the suture can be secured to tissue, but the procedure becomes cumbersome and time-consuming
Solution Approach 1:
The patent removes the knot-tying step from the surgical procedure by extracting the securing function into a pre-formed loop structure with integrated locking mechanism. The loop is passed through tissue and locked in place without requiring manual knot manipulation, eliminating the time-consuming knot-tying process while maintaining secure fixation.
Solution Approach 2:
The suture is pre-configured with a loop structure and locking mechanism before surgery. This preliminary preparation allows the surgeon to simply pass the pre-formed loop through tissue and lock it, rather than forming knots during the procedure. The complex securing action is performed in advance, improving intraoperative efficiency.
2Ease of operation
If knots are tied to secure sutures, then the suture is fixed, but the surgeon's ability is limited in minimally invasive procedures
Solution Approach 1:
The loop structure with locking mechanism is self-securing, requiring no manual knot-tying skill or dexterity. The surgeon simply passes the loop through tissue and activates the locking mechanism, which then secures itself automatically. This self-service design eliminates the need for complex manual manipulation, making the procedure easier to perform, especially in minimally invasive settings where manual dexterity is limited.
3Strength
If adjustable loops are reduced in size to secure tissue, then strong fixation is achieved, but the loop must be precisely controlled
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a locking mechanism as an intermediary between the adjustable loop and the tissue. The locking mechanism controls the loop reduction process, allowing the surgeon to gradually tighten the loop to the desired tension without requiring precise manual control of the entire loop reduction. The locking mechanism acts as a mediator that translates simple locking actions into controlled, progressive loop tightening, achieving strong fixation while simplifying the control requirement.
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
This method enhances surgical efficiency by providing increased load to failure, multiple-fold strength, decreased stretch at failure, and stiffness at failure compared to traditional knot-secured sutures, facilitating secure tissue attachment without the need for manual knot tying.
Implementation Method 1
the adjustable loop is reduced about or within the locking member such that the at least one loop is frictionally retained in the passage construct
Data Source
AI summary
Methods of attaching a soft tissue to an adjacent bone at a defect site are provided. At least one adjustable loop of a flexible construct is passed through the soft tissue. The at least one adjustable loop is passed through a passage construct. A locking member is passed through the at least one adjustable loop and the adjustable loop is reduced about or within the locking member such that the at least one loop is frictionally retained in the passage construct and locked in place by the locking member to thereby secure the soft tissue.