Eccentric-Fluke Staple Fixation for Sheet Implant Tendon Repair
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current treatments for partial thickness tears in the supraspinatus tendon do not effectively repair or strengthen the tendon, leading to further damage and the need for more drastic surgical procedures, and there is a lack of surgical techniques to treat such tears effectively.
Innovation Solution
A staple design with eccentrically mounted flukes and a bridge is used to attach a sheet-like implant to the tendon, allowing for rotational engagement and retention, which can be applied using a fixation tool to secure the implant to the target tissue.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If current treatments for partial thickness tears are used, then the tendon is not effectively repaired or strengthened, but further damage occurs and more drastic surgical procedures are needed
Solution Approach 1:
The fixation system is divided into multiple components: a staple with multiple arms, a sheet-like implant with multiple apertures, and a delivery device with multiple prongs. This segmentation allows for distributed fixation across the tendon defect, providing more reliable repair and strengthening compared to single-point fixation methods.
Solution Approach 2:
The sheet-like implant is nested within the tendon defect, with the staple arms passing through apertures in the implant and into the tendon tissue. The delivery device prongs are nested within the staple arms during deployment. This nested configuration ensures proper positioning and secure fixation of the implant to strengthen the tendon.
2Reliability
If a staple design with eccentrically mounted flukes is used, then secure attachment and retention of the sheet-like implant is achieved, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The flukes are mounted eccentrically on the staple arms, creating an asymmetric configuration. This asymmetry allows the flukes to rotate into engagement with the tendon tissue when the staple is deployed, providing secure attachment and retention of the sheet-like implant while maintaining a relatively simple staple structure.
Data Source
AI summary
A staple for attaching a sheet-like implant to tissue or bone may include first and second arms, and first and second flukes. In some embodiments, the first arm has a proximal end and a distal end, and the second arm has a proximal end and a distal end. A bridge extends from the proximal end of the first arm to the proximal end of the second arm. The first fluke has a proximal end abutting the distal end of the first arm, and the first fluke extends distally from the first arm. The first fluke has a lateral extent larger than a lateral extent of the first arm and is mounted eccentrically thereto. The first fluke includes a proximal surface projecting at an outward angle in a proximal direction away from the distal end of the first arm to engage the tissue or bone when inserted therein. The second fluke has similar features. This arrangement causes the first and second flukes to rotate in response to a pullout force on the bridge. Methods for attaching a sheet-like implant to a target tissue are also disclosed.