Hip All-Suture Anchor Deployment with Ratchet Tension Release
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current deployment devices for all-suture anchors require the use of two hands for both tensioning and uncleating, making them cumbersome, and they cannot deploy and release the anchor efficiently in hard bone.
Innovation Solution
A deployment device with a braided anchor and suture that uses a ratchet wheel and a frangible link to tension and release the anchor with one hand, featuring a fork that moves between extended and withdrawn positions, a ratchet wheel, and a lever to wind and unwind the suture filament, ensuring proper deployment and release.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If current deployment devices are used to tension and release all-suture anchors, then the anchor can be deployed, but two hands are required for both tensioning and uncleating, making the device cumbersome
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines the tensioning mechanism (ratchet wheel) and the release mechanism (frangible link) into a single integrated system. The ratchet wheel serves dual purposes: it winds the suture to deploy the anchor and, when combined with the frangible link, automatically releases the suture after deployment. This merging of functions allows one-handed operation while eliminating the need for separate manual uncleating steps.
Solution Approach 2:
The frangible link provides automatic release functionality. After the ratchet wheel winds the suture to deploy the anchor, the frangible link breaks due to the winding tension, automatically releasing the suture from the spool without requiring manual intervention. This self-service mechanism eliminates the need for a second hand to perform uncleating, resolving the contradiction between ease of operation and device complexity.
2Reliability
If all-suture anchors are partially inserted into pre-formed pilot holes in hard bone, then the anchor can be positioned, but the anchor cannot deploy and hold effectively as it cannot generate sufficient tension
Solution Approach 1:
The ratchet wheel mechanism enables periodic winding action on the suture. Each rotation of the ratchet wheel winds the suture further, incrementally building tension on the anchor. This periodic winding action allows the surgeon to apply controlled, progressive force to deploy the anchor in hard bone, overcoming the initial resistance and achieving sufficient holding strength that would not be possible with static insertion alone.
Solution Approach 2:
The spool acts as an intermediary between the ratchet wheel and the suture. The ratchet wheel winds the suture onto the spool, converting rotational motion into linear tension force on the suture. This intermediary mechanism amplifies and controls the force applied to the anchor, enabling reliable deployment in hard bone by translating the surgeon's hand motion into the high tension forces required for secure anchoring.
3Productivity
If deployment devices require two hands for manual uncleating of suture after deployment, then the anchor can be released from the device, but the process becomes time-consuming and cumbersome
Solution Approach 1:
The frangible link is pre-configured to break at a specific tension threshold. During the deployment process, as the ratchet wheel winds the suture, the link is subjected to increasing tension until it reaches its breaking point and fails. This preliminary setup of the frangible link ensures that release occurs automatically at the appropriate moment, eliminating the need for subsequent manual uncleating operations and significantly improving productivity while reducing time loss.
Solution Approach 2:
The frangible link's weakness (its tendency to break under tension) is converted into a beneficial automatic release mechanism. The link is designed to fail at a predetermined force level, and this failure becomes the release trigger. What could be seen as a defect (the link breaking) is actually the intended release mechanism, eliminating the need for manual uncleating and improving overall deployment efficiency.
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
Enables one-handed deployment and release of the braided anchor, ensuring secure anchoring in bone without manual uncleating, by using a ratchet wheel and frangible link to manage suture tension effectively.
Implementation Method 1
A ratchet wheel is rotatably mounted to the body to selectively drive a spool that is coupled to the ratchet wheel by a frangible link to wind up and then release the suture of the anchor
Implementation Method 2
The frangible link is configured to break in response to a force of about 40 pounds of tension on the filament captured by the spool
Implementation Method 3
A lever mounted to the body can move the fork longitudinally within the body from the extended to the withdrawn position and can rotate the ratchet wheel to wind up the suture to deploy the braided anchor
Implementation Method 4
The body includes a pawl positioned to selectively engage the ratchet wheel
Data Source
AI summary
A deployment device for an all suture anchor having a braided anchor and a suture filament extending through the braided anchor. A fork extends longitudinally through the body of the device and is moveable between an extended position and a withdrawn position to position and then release the braided anchor. A ratchet wheel drives a spool coupled to the ratchet wheel by a frangible link to wind up the suture filament to deploy the braided anchor. When sufficient tension is achieved to fully deploy the braided anchor, the frangible link will break, thereby releasing the suture filament to leave the deployed braided anchor in place with the suture filament extending from the pilot hole. All operations are accomplished by one lever that selectively withdraws the fork, rotates the ratchet wheel, and then allows release of the filament with the use of just a single hand.