Braided Tissue Anchor With Expandable Flanges for Secure Removable Fixation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing tissue anchors are either too rigid, causing tissue necrosis or adhesion, or too weak, allowing leakage and movement, and lack removability during and after implantation.
Innovation Solution
Tissue anchors with a woven filament braid body, forming double-walled flange structures that expand radially to secure tissue layers, optionally covered by a membrane, and can be delivered endoscopically, with self-expanding or axially compressed designs for secure attachment without causing significant tissue damage.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Strength
If rigid tissue anchors are used, then firm tissue attachment is achieved, but tissue necrosis or adhesion occurs
Solution Approach 1:
The tissue anchor employs a flexible membrane structure that conforms to and distributes pressure across the tissue surface, avoiding concentrated stress points that cause necrosis. The membrane acts as a flexible shell that maintains attachment strength while preventing tissue damage through even pressure distribution.
Solution Approach 2:
The anchor structure changes its physical parameters by expanding from a compressed delivery state to an expanded deployed state. This parameter change allows the anchor to achieve firm attachment through controlled expansion, distributing force over a larger area to prevent tissue necrosis while maintaining attachment strength.
2Object-affected harmful factors
If weak tissue anchors are used, then tissue damage is minimized, but leakage and movement occur at the penetration point
Solution Approach 1:
The tissue anchor is divided into multiple functional segments including a membrane portion and an expandable framework. This segmentation allows different parts to perform specialized functions: the membrane minimizes tissue damage through gentle contact, while the expandable framework provides reliable leakage prevention and movement resistance through structural integrity.
Solution Approach 2:
The anchor combines multiple materials with complementary properties - a flexible membrane material for tissue compatibility and damage minimization, combined with a structurally robust framework material for leakage prevention and movement resistance. This composite construction resolves the contradiction between gentleness and strength.
3Strength
If expandable cage structures are used, then tissue layers are physically held together, but the cuffs provide insufficient strength when tissue structures separate
Solution Approach 1:
The tissue anchor employs a dynamically expandable structure that transitions from a compressed delivery configuration to an expanded deployed configuration. This dynamic expansion allows the anchor to adapt to tissue separation forces, maintaining attachment reliability during patient movement by increasing its engagement with the tissue layers.
Solution Approach 2:
The anchor utilizes a curved or spheroidal expansion geometry that distributes attachment forces evenly across the tissue layers. This curved structure provides superior mechanical interlocking compared to flat or rigid configurations, enhancing attachment reliability when tissue structures separate during patient movement.
4Reliability
If permanent tissue anchors are used, then secure long-term fixation is achieved, but removability during and after implantation is lost
Solution Approach 1:
The tissue anchor employs a dynamic locking mechanism that transitions from a locked secure state during normal function to an unlocked removable state when actuated. This dynamic property allows the anchor to provide reliable long-term fixation while maintaining ease of removal when needed, resolving the contradiction between permanence and removability.
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
Provides firm tissue attachment with minimal risk of necrosis, allows for endoscopic delivery and removal, and maintains secure fixation over time, suitable for various body lumens and procedures.
Implementation Method 1
The body is in an elongated tubular configuration while being advanced and is subsequently foreshortened to cause a distal end and a proximal end of the body to each deform into double-walled flange structures
Data Source
AI summary
Tissue anchors comprise a woven filament braid body having an elongated tubular configuration and a foreshortened configuration where proximal and distal ends of the body expand radially into double-walled flange structures while leaving a cylindrical saddle region therebetween. The tissue anchors are deployed through penetrations between adjacent tissue layers, where the flanges engage the outer surfaces of the tissue layers and the saddle region resides within the tissue penetrations.