Barbed Suture Material Formed by Undrawn State Cutting
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional surgical suture materials require knotting, which can lead to complications such as increased scar formation, restricted blood circulation, and foreign-body reactions, and the production of barbed sutures with cut barbs in the drawn state can result in mechanical instability due to deep cuts, potentially causing tearing.
Innovation Solution
A surgical suture material with barbs formed by cuts made in the undrawn state, which is then drawn, allowing for variable barb geometries and improved mechanical properties, and a method of production that increases cutting safety and ease by using the original, larger diameter of the suture material.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If barbs are cut into the suture material in the drawn state, then the suture material can be used for knotless wound closure, but the mechanical load-bearing capacity is reduced and tearing may occur
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies preliminary action by cutting the barbs into the suture material in the undrawn state before the drawing process. This sequence ensures that the barbs are formed when the material has sufficient thickness to maintain structural integrity during cutting, and the subsequent drawing process then narrows the material while preserving the pre-formed barb structures, thereby maintaining both the knotless closure capability and the mechanical strength
2Reliability
If barbs are cut too deep into the drawn suture material, then anchoring in tissue is improved, but the suture material becomes mechanically unstable and may tear
Solution Approach 1:
The patent performs the barb cutting action in advance, before the material is drawn to its final narrow dimensions. This allows deeper, more effective barbs to be cut into the thicker undrawn material without compromising mechanical stability, as the material has greater structural reserve at that stage. The subsequent drawing process then preserves these deeply-cut barbs while narrowing the suture body
3Reliability
If conventional knotting is used for wound closure, then secure fixing is achieved, but scar formation increases and blood circulation is restricted
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts and eliminates the knotting element from the wound closure process. By forming barbs directly into the suture material itself, the invention removes the need for separate knots to achieve secure fixing. The barbed structure provides inherent anchoring capability that replaces the function of knots, thereby eliminating the harmful effects of multiple knots on scar formation and blood circulation while maintaining reliable wound closure
Data Source
Figure 1a~1d
Figure 2a~3b
Figure 4a~4c
AI summary
The invention relates to a drawn surgical suture material (100; 200; 300; 400) with an elongate main body (120; 220; 320; 420) and with barbs (140; 240-243; 340-345; 440) for anchoring in biological tissues, particularly in human and/or animal tissues, wherein the barbs (140; 240-243; 340-345; 440) are formed by cuts made into the suture material in the undrawn state. Moreover, the invention also relates to an undrawn suture material (10), a surgical kit, and a method for producing the suture material (100; 200; 300; 400).