Bone Cerclage Suture Passer With Variable-Width Slot
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing bone cerclages, such as cables or fabrics, are inefficient in maintaining the relative position of fractured or cut bones, particularly during surgical procedures like open heart surgery, and often require additional locking mechanisms that may complicate the healing process.
Innovation Solution
A suture passer system with a shaft featuring a passageway and variable-width slot, along with a rigid sheath and suture, is used to wrap suture around the bone multiple times, allowing for secure fixation without additional locking structures, and can be adjusted to fit different bone contours.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If traditional cable or fabric cerclages are used with locking mechanisms, then the bone fragments can be held together, but the device complexity increases and the healing process may be complicated
Solution Approach 1:
The patent removes the locking mechanism component entirely from the cerclage system. The suture passer device passes suture material around the bone without requiring any locking structures, plugs, or clips. The suture is simply wrapped around the bone and the ends are left free or tied in a simple knot, eliminating complex locking components while maintaining the cerclage function.
Solution Approach 2:
The suture material itself serves the dual function of both the cerclage wrap and the securing mechanism. The suture is passed around the bone multiple times to create the cerclage, and the same suture material is used to secure the bone fragments through friction and tension alone, without requiring separate locking components. The system uses the suture's own properties to achieve both containment and fixation.
2Device complexity
If a suture passer with variable-width slot is used, then the sheath can be inserted and secured without locking mechanisms, but the manufacturing precision requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The shaft of the suture passer features a slot with non-uniform width along its length, creating different functional zones. The proximal portion has a wider opening to facilitate easy insertion of the sheath and suture material, while the distal portion has a narrower width that prevents the sheath from slipping back during the procedure. This local variation in geometry optimizes both insertion ease and retention without requiring complex locking mechanisms.
3Ease of operation
If the sheath is made more rigid than the suture strand, then the sheath can be easily manipulated and inserted, but the sheath diameter must be larger than the suture diameter
Solution Approach 1:
The suture material is inserted through the hollow lumen of the sheath, with the flexible suture strand nested inside the more rigid sheath structure. This nested arrangement allows the rigid sheath to provide structural support for easy manipulation and insertion, while the flexible suture inside can conform to the bone contour. The sheath acts as a delivery conduit that protects and guides the suture during the procedure.
Data Source
AI summary
A system for providing a bone cerclage according to an exemplary aspect of the present disclosure includes, among other things, a suture passer including a shaft. The shaft includes a passageway and a slot leading to the passageway. The slot has a variable width along a length of the passageway. A method is also disclosed.