Concentric Barbed Suture with Segmented Sheet Design
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current methods for forming barbs on sutures are difficult and costly to achieve the desired arrangement and configuration, limiting their effectiveness in wound closure.
Innovation Solution
A barbed suture design featuring a core fiber with a biocompatible sheet of barbs positioned around its perimeter, where the sheet is bonded to the core at spaced intervals, allowing the barbs to protrude and facilitate unidirectional or bidirectional tissue passage without damaging the core fiber.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Manufacturing precision
If conventional methods are used to form barbs on sutures, then the desired arrangement and configuration of barbs can be achieved, but the process becomes difficult and costly
Solution Approach 1:
The suture is divided into distinct components: a core fiber and a separate sheet material containing the barbs. This segmentation allows the barbs to be formed independently on the sheet, simplifying the manufacturing process while maintaining precise control over barb arrangement and configuration.
Solution Approach 2:
The barbs are pre-formed on the sheet material before the sheet is attached to the core fiber. This preliminary action enables the barbs to be created using simpler, more cost-effective processes rather than requiring complex operations to form them directly on the final suture assembly.
2Manufacturing precision
If barbs are formed by cutting through the suture material, then the desired barb configuration is achieved, but the core fiber may be damaged
Solution Approach 1:
By separating the barb formation process from the core fiber, the design eliminates the risk of core damage. The sheet material with pre-formed barbs is attached to the intact core fiber, ensuring the core maintains its full strength while the barbs provide the necessary tissue engagement.
Solution Approach 2:
The sheet material serves as an intermediary carrier for the barbs. Instead of forming barbs directly on the core fiber through cutting, the sheet acts as a mediator that holds the barbs and transfers them to the core fiber attachment point, protecting the core from damage while still achieving the desired barb configuration.
Data Source
Figure 1A~1B
Figure 2A~2F
Figure 3A~3B
AI summary
A barbed suture and a method of forming a barbed suture are disclosed. The barbed suture includes a core fiber and a sheet, which can be monolithic or formed from a plurality of longitudinally extending fibers, which is placed around the core fiber.