Anchor and Graft System for Hernia Defect Closure
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing methods for closing bodily openings, such as hernias, are often time-consuming and inefficient, with manual suturing techniques being difficult to perform and mesh plug methods not effectively covering the entire area or being prone to migration.
Innovation Solution
A system comprising an anchor with a deployable shape that securely engages the tissue surrounding the opening, coupled with a graft member and tethers to ensure secure attachment, allowing for enhanced closure and reduced anchor migration.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If manual suturing techniques are used to secure graft material to surrounding tissue, then the graft material can be effectively secured, but the procedure becomes time-consuming and difficult to perform
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a delivery device as an intermediary tool that pre-loads the graft material and positions it at the defect site, eliminating the need for manual suturing. The delivery device acts as a mediator between the graft material and the tissue, enabling secure placement through a simplified insertion mechanism rather than complex manual threading and knotting procedures.
Solution Approach 2:
The graft material is pre-attached to the delivery device before insertion, and the delivery device is pre-positioned at the defect site. This preliminary preparation allows the graft to be deployed in a single action rather than requiring time-consuming step-by-step manual suturing during the procedure.
2Ease of operation
If a mesh plug is used to fill the perforation, then fewer sutures and less tissue dissection are needed, but the mesh plug may shrink, become loose, or poke into the bladder or intestines
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses a graft material that functions as a flexible membrane or film structure. This flexible graft can conform to the irregular shapes of the defect and surrounding tissue, providing a secure fit that prevents shrinking, loosening, or protrusion into adjacent organs, while still allowing for ease of insertion.
Solution Approach 2:
The delivery device serves as an intermediary that precisely positions the graft material at the defect site, ensuring proper placement and orientation. This controlled delivery mechanism prevents the graft from becoming mispositioned or protruding into adjacent structures like the bladder or intestines.
3Reliability
If the anchor is made larger than the opening to ensure secure engagement, then the anchor can be disposed securely within or distal to the opening, but the delivery device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The delivery device incorporates expandable or collapsible components that allow it to accommodate the large anchor structure during delivery, then expand or maintain its configuration once positioned. This dynamic capability enables the device to handle the oversized anchor without requiring permanently complex structural features.
Solution Approach 2:
The delivery device uses a nested structure where components are contained within one another during the delivery phase, allowing the large anchor to be compacted or housed within the delivery device. Once positioned, the anchor is deployed from the nested configuration, maintaining security of engagement without requiring the delivery device to have permanently complex geometry.
Data Source
AI summary
The present embodiments provide a system for facilitating closure of a bodily opening. In one embodiment, the system comprises an anchor having a deployed state dimensioned for engaging tissue surrounding the opening, a first tether coupled to the anchor and extending proximally therefrom, and a graft member comprising a first bore disposed therein. The anchor may comprise a width that is larger than a width of the opening such that the anchor is disposed securely within or distal to the opening. The first tether is dimensioned to be disposed through the first bore in the graft member, such that the graft member is advanced distally over the first tether. The graft member then may be secured to the anchor. Various anchor designs are provided along with a supporting framework that may be coupled to the graft member.