Barbed Suture With Hydrogel Lumen for Controlled Release
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current sutures lack the ability to effectively manage pain, bleeding, and tissue bonding during the healing process, and there is a need for a solution that can release wound treatment materials to enhance tissue closure and healing.
Innovation Solution
A barbed suture with a hydrogel wound treatment material is designed, where the barbs move between positions to either retain or release the hydrogel within the suture's lumen, allowing for controlled delivery of therapeutic agents to the wound site.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Strength
If a barbed suture is used to join tissue, then tissue bonding strength is improved, but the ability to manage pain, bleeding, and enhance healing is insufficient
Solution Approach 1:
The suture device is designed to perform multiple functions: mechanical tissue bonding through barbs, pain management through anesthetic delivery, bleeding control through hemostatic agent delivery, and healing enhancement through growth factor delivery. This multi-functional design resolves the contradiction by enabling the single device to provide both strong tissue bonding and comprehensive wound management capabilities.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent incorporates a lumen within the suture body that contains reservoirs for various wound treatment materials. These nested structures allow the suture to carry and deliver multiple therapeutic agents while maintaining its primary function of tissue approximation, thus resolving the contradiction between bonding strength and treatment versatility.
2Reliability
If wound treatment material is released continuously, then healing is enhanced, but loss of substance increases
Solution Approach 1:
The barbed suture mechanism creates periodic release of wound treatment materials as the barbs engage with tissue and move through it. This periodic action allows controlled delivery of therapeutic agents at specific moments during the suturing process, enhancing healing effectiveness while minimizing overall material consumption compared to continuous release.
Solution Approach 2:
The wound treatment materials are pre-loaded into reservoirs within the suture body before the suturing procedure. This preliminary preparation ensures that the materials are delivered precisely when and where needed during tissue approximation, optimizing healing enhancement while preventing premature loss of the therapeutic substances.
3Strength
If barbs are added to the suture, then tissue bonding is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges the tissue bonding function (barbs) with the drug delivery function (lumen with reservoirs) into a single integrated suture device. This consolidation resolves the contradiction by combining multiple functions into one structure, achieving strong tissue bonding without proportionally increasing overall device complexity, as the components work together in a unified system.
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
The barbed suture effectively reduces pain, bleeding, and enhances tissue bonding by releasing wound treatment materials, such as hydrogels, which can act as adhesives, sealants, or hemostats, promoting healing and tissue closure.
Implementation Method 1
The wound treatment material is a hydrogel
Data Source
Figure 1~5
Figure 6~7
AI summary
A medical device (100) includes an elongated body (102) including an outer surface (104) having a plurality of barbs (110) extending therefrom and an inner surface (106) defining a lumen (108) therethrough. The elongated body includes at least one channel (120) extending through the inner surface and the outer surface, the channel defined between an inner surface of one of the plurality of barbs and a cut outer surface of the elongated body. A wound treatment material (W) is disposed within the lumen of the elongated body. The barb is configured to move between a first position to close the channel and retain the wound treatment material within the lumen and a second position to open the channel and permit the release of the wound treatment material therethrough.