Interchangeable Suture Drive System for Arthroscopic Repair
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current suture insertion techniques in arthroscopic surgery, such as inside-out and outside-in methods, are inefficient due to the difficulty in placing sutures in confined environments and require significant dexterity, leading to prolonged procedure times.
Innovation Solution
A suture drive system that can advance push rods and drive shafts with swaged needles or anchors, utilizing a dual drive mechanism with gears and a push rod selector to facilitate both inside-out and outside-in suture delivery methods, allowing for interchangeable suture systems and ease of use with a single trigger.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If traditional inside-out or outside-in suture insertion techniques are used, then sutures can be placed to repair tissue tears, but the procedures require significant dexterity and take a substantial portion of time due to the difficulty of placing sutures in confined environments
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a drive shaft as an intermediary tool that the surgeon controls from outside the body, which then delivers the suture through the tissue. This mediator system allows the surgeon to place sutures without directly manipulating them through the confined surgical site, reducing the dexterity requirement while maintaining productivity
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces the traditional manual mechanical suture placement system with an automated drive mechanism. The drive shaft, controlled by a trigger mechanism, automatically pushes the suture through the tissue, substituting manual dexterity with a mechanical actuation system that improves both ease of operation and procedure time
2Adaptability or versatility
If a single drive system is designed to accommodate multiple suture systems (inside-out and outside-in techniques), then versatility is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent designs a universal drive system that can accommodate multiple suture systems and techniques (inside-out and outside-in) through a single trigger mechanism and drive shaft configuration. This multi-functional design allows the same device to perform different surgical tasks, improving versatility without proportionally increasing complexity
Solution Approach 2:
The patent incorporates a dynamic push rod selector mechanism that allows the surgeon to switch between different drive configurations (inside-out and outside-in modes) during the procedure. This dynamic adaptability enables the system to handle multiple suture systems while maintaining a relatively simple base design that can reconfigure as needed
Data Source
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AI summary
A suture drive system configured to assist in attaching a suture to tissue within a patient, and in at least one application, repairing meniscal tears and shoulder tissue tears is disclosed. The suture drive system may be interchangeable in that the system can be adapted to insert different suture systems into tissue of a patient using the same device. In particular, in one embodiment configured to employ an inside-out suture delivery method, the suture drive system may advance two combinations of push rods and two swaged needles having one or more sutures attached thereto. In another embodiment configured to employ an outside-in suture delivery method, the suture drive system may advance two combinations of push rods and drive shafts to deliver two anchors releasably affixed to the distal ends of the drive shafts into tissue to close an opening in the tissue.