Bidirectional Self-Retaining Suture for Soft Palate Elevation
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Current self-retaining sutures for soft palate elevation procedures face challenges such as suture extrusion and infection risks due to the need for knot-tying, which can lead to complications like scarring and prolonged healing times, especially in procedures like SNORELIFT, where anchoring the trailing ends is difficult and can cause tissue bunching and infection.
Innovation Solution
A bidirectional self-retaining suture with a specific retainer configuration and deployment method, including a transition segment, is used to anchor the suture in soft palate tissue, eliminating the need for knots by utilizing a plurality of tissue retainers that resist movement in one direction while allowing deployment in another, thereby enhancing tissue elevation and reducing tissue tension.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If conventional sutures with knot-tying are used for soft palate elevation, then secure tissue anchoring is achieved, but suture extrusion, infection risk, and scarring increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent removes the knot component from the suture system entirely. Instead of using a knot to secure the suture trailing end, the invention employs a self-retaining suture with barbed retainers that anchor directly into the tissue, eliminating the harmful knot that causes extrusion and infection while maintaining secure anchoring.
Solution Approach 2:
The suture trailing end is designed to be self-retaining through its barbed retainer structure. The retainers on the suture body automatically engage and anchor the trailing end into the soft palate tissue without requiring external knot-tying, making the suture self-sufficient and eliminating the need for harmful knot components.
2Stability of the object's composition
If knot-tying is performed to secure suture trailing ends, then tissue approximation is maintained, but operative time and healing duration increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent eliminates the time-consuming knot-tying step by removing the knot component entirely. The self-retaining barbed suture achieves tissue approximation through its retainer structure, significantly reducing operative time while maintaining stable tissue approximation throughout healing.
Solution Approach 2:
The suture system performs the anchoring function automatically through its self-retaining barbed structure, eliminating the need for manual knot-tying. This self-service mechanism reduces operative time and allows faster healing without compromising tissue approximation stability.
3Ease of operation
If unidirectional self-retaining sutures are used for soft palate elevation, then deployment is simplified, but trailing end anchoring becomes difficult causing tissue bunching and infection
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs bidirectional self-retaining sutures with asymmetric retainer configurations. One end has retainers optimized for initial deployment while the trailing end has retainers specifically configured for secure anchoring, allowing simplified deployment while preventing trailing end complications through asymmetric design.
Solution Approach 2:
Instead of using a unidirectional suture where the trailing end requires knot-tying for anchoring, the patent inverts the approach by placing self-retaining barbed retainers at both ends of the suture. This allows the trailing end to anchor itself into the tissue naturally, eliminating the need for knot-tying and preventing trailing end complications.
Data Source
Figure 1A~1B
Figure 2A~2C
Figure 3A
AI summary
A self-retaining suture having particular application for treating obstructive sleep apnea and use thereof. The suture includes rising an elongated suture body having a periphery and first and second tissue-penetrating ends each with a bi-curve needle, and a plurality of first retainers on a first segment and oriented to the first end, and a plurality of second retainers a second segment and oriented to the second end, and a retainer- free transition segment disposed between the pluralities of first and second retainers.