Bioabsorbable Tissue Fastener Deployment for Low-Trauma Wound Closure
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing surgical staplers using bioabsorbable fasteners face issues such as bulkiness, tissue trauma, bleeding, and require multiple operators, making them unsuitable for short incisions and inefficient for single-user operation.
Innovation Solution
A hand-held surgical device that deploys bioabsorbable fasteners with a single trigger operation, featuring a housing with a handle and barrel angled for perpendicular insertion, tissue holders with sharp protrusions, and a multi-velocity spring-loaded delivery mechanism to minimize tissue trauma and enable secure closure of incisions or wounds up to 10 mm long.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Strength
If bioabsorbable fasteners are made thicker to maintain strength during healing, then the fastener strength is improved, but the device complexity and tissue trauma increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the geometric parameters of the fastener by reducing thickness while increasing length, transforming it from a traditional thick staple to a thin wire-like configuration. This parameter change allows the fastener to maintain sufficient strength through its extended geometry rather than relying on thickness, thereby reducing tissue trauma during insertion.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention transitions from a three-dimensional thick staple structure to a two-dimensional thin wire configuration. By distributing the fastening function across a longer dimension rather than relying on thickness, the design achieves adequate strength while minimizing the cross-sectional impact on surrounding tissue.
2Reliability
If a driving head is inserted into the incision to compress tissue for fastener deployment, then the fastener deployment reliability is improved, but the device complexity increases and device entrapment risk increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent removes the driving head component from the incision site entirely. Instead of inserting a complex driving mechanism into the wound, the system uses an external trigger mechanism that delivers fasteners through the tissue edges without requiring internal compression structures, thereby eliminating device entrapment risk.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention introduces a trigger mechanism as an intermediary that controls fastener delivery from the exterior. This mediator allows reliable fastener deployment without requiring the stapler body to be inserted into or remain in the incision, simplifying the overall device architecture.
3Strength
If traditional metal staples are used to close incisions, then the closure strength is improved, but the need for exposed portions and follow-up removal increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs bioabsorbable fasteners that are designed to perform their function and then naturally degrade and absorb within the body. This eliminates the need for permanent metal staples that require removal, allowing the incision to close strengthily while avoiding the operational burden of follow-up removal procedures.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention changes the material parameter from permanent metal to bioabsorbable polymer, transforming the fastener from a permanent implant requiring removal to a temporary structure that dissolves after serving its purpose. This material change maintains adequate closure strength during healing while eliminating the need for patient return visits for removal.
4Ease of manufacture
If piercing members cut holes in target tissue zones to insert fasteners, then the fastener insertion is enabled, but the tissue trauma and bleeding increase
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of cutting holes in the tissue to insert fasteners, the patent inverts the approach by having the fastener itself pierce the tissue edges and loop underneath. This reversal eliminates the need for pre-cut openings, reducing tissue trauma and bleeding while still enabling secure fastener placement.
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 device allows single-user operation, minimizes tissue trauma, and securely closes incisions or wounds with bioabsorbable fasteners entirely below the skin surface, avoiding device entrapment and reducing the need for multiple operators.
Implementation Method 1
a multi-velocity spring-loaded delivery mechanism
Data Source
AI summary
The present invention is directed to a hand-held surgical device, operable by a single user, for deploying fasteners to close a wound or incision in tissue. The device includes tissue pinching and folding members operably controlled by the user during actuation of a trigger of the device, which can temporarily secure and expose inner surfaces of two edges of an incision or wound, where one of a plurality of fasteners can be inserted upon further actuation of the trigger, without crushing or causing undue trauma to the tissue.