Clip for Broad Suture Anchoring
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Broad sutures used for soft tissue repair and fixation face challenges in anchoring within tissue, as traditional knots are ineffective and can lead to increased palpability, pain, foreign body response, and infection risk.
Innovation Solution
A clip with hingedly connected side portions and prongs that slide onto a broad suture, anchoring it by penetrating the suture material to prevent pullout, while minimizing size and material thickness to reduce foreign body response and infection risk.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If traditional knots are used to anchor broad sutures, then the suture can be secured in tissue, but the knot increases palpability, pain, foreign body response, and infection risk
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the harmful knot structure from the suture anchoring system and replaces it with a separate clip device. The clip is applied externally to the broad suture after the suture has been passed through tissue, eliminating the need for large tissue-penetrating knots while maintaining anchoring security.
Solution Approach 2:
The clip acts as an intermediary device between the broad suture and the tissue. Instead of the suture itself creating a large knot in the tissue, the clip provides the anchoring function externally, reducing direct tissue irritation and infection risk while maintaining suture security.
2Reliability
If large knots are used to secure broad sutures, then the suture is anchored in tissue, but the knot size increases palpability and pain
Solution Approach 1:
The patent removes the large knot structure from the anchoring system and replaces it with a compact clip device. The clip provides the same anchoring function but with a much smaller profile that does not create significant palpability or pain.
Solution Approach 2:
The anchoring function is segmented from the suture material itself and placed in a separate clip device. This allows the suture to remain thin and flexible while the clip provides the necessary anchoring security with a minimized external profile.
3Strength
If wide sutures are used for high-tension wounds, then the suture strength is increased, but the anchoring effectiveness decreases compared to thread sutures
Solution Approach 1:
The clip serves as an intermediary anchoring device that is specifically designed to work with broad sutures. The clip's structure with apertures and prongs is optimized to engage with the wide profile of broad sutures, providing effective anchoring that would be difficult to achieve with traditional knotting methods.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the anchoring mechanism from knot-based (designed for thin threads) to clip-based (designed for wide sutures). The clip's geometric parameters—aperture size, prong configuration, and overall dimensions—are specifically optimized for the wider profile of broad sutures used in high-tension applications.
Data Source
AI summary
A clip includes a first side portion and a second side portion fastenable together and configured to attach to a broad suture. The first side portion has a first aperture sized to permit passage of the broad suture therethrough. The second side portion has a second aperture sized to permit passage of the broad suture therethrough, and at least one prong in the second aperture configured to penetrate the broad suture. A stopper surface is provided on the first side portion, wherein the prong contacts the stopper surface when the first side portion and the second side portion are fastened together so as to maintain the prong in the broad suture to thereby attach the clip to the broad suture.