Knotless Suture Anchor with Bone Locking Sleeve
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current arthroscopic techniques for attaching soft tissue to bone are cumbersome, require high skill, and often result in knots that are difficult to adjust and can cause discomfort for patients, with existing suture anchors prone to loosening and eyelet designs that stress sutures under tension.
Innovation Solution
A knotless suture anchor system with a bone locking mechanism that includes a sleeve member to expand and compress sutures, providing a secure fixation without knots, and a design that embeds the anchor below the cortical bone surface using multiple sutures and a bone piercing tip for enhanced stability.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If traditional suture anchors with eyelets are used, then the anchor can be inserted into bone, but the suture fails at the eyelet under high tensile loads
Solution Approach 1:
The patent removes the eyelet component entirely from the anchor design. Instead of threading the suture through a small eyelet that creates stress concentration, the suture is routed through a larger tunnel that distributes tensile loads across a broader area of the anchor body, eliminating the stress concentration point that causes suture failure.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent transitions from a two-dimensional eyelet opening to a three-dimensional tunnel structure. The suture passes through a tunnel with substantial cross-sectional area rather than a thin eyelet, creating a volumetric load distribution path that significantly increases the anchor's tensile load capacity.
2Reliability
If knots are tied to secure soft tissue to the anchor, then the soft tissue is fixed, but the knot bundle remains on top of the soft tissues causing post-operative discomfort
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts and eliminates the knot from the fixation system. Instead of tying a knot to secure the suture to the anchor, the design uses a knotless mechanism where the suture is threaded through the anchor body and secured through a button mechanism that locks the suture in place without creating a bulky knot on the tissue surface.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces a button mechanism as an intermediary component between the suture and the anchor body. This button serves as a mediator that locks the suture in place through a buttonhole, eliminating the need for a traditional knot while providing secure fixation. The button mechanism allows the suture to be secured without creating a knot bundle on the soft tissue.
3Ease of operation
If intracorporeal suturing is performed arthroscopically, then tissue can be repaired minimally invasively, but the skill level required is inordinately high and the procedure is time consuming
Solution Approach 1:
The patent performs preliminary actions by pre-threading the suture through the anchor body and pre-configuring the button mechanism before insertion. The suture is already positioned and secured through the anchor's tunnel and buttonhole, eliminating the need for complex intracorporeal knot tying during the arthroscopic procedure. This preliminary configuration simplifies the surgical technique while maintaining minimal invasiveness.
4Strength
If the anchor is placed under high tensile loads, then secure fixation is achieved, but the small radius eyelet causes the suture to fail
Solution Approach 1:
The patent transitions from a two-dimensional eyelet opening to a three-dimensional tunnel structure. The suture passes through a tunnel with substantial cross-sectional area rather than a thin eyelet, creating a volumetric load distribution path that significantly increases the anchor's tensile load capacity while preventing suture failure.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the geometric parameters of the suture passage from a small radius eyelet to a larger tunnel with greater cross-sectional area. This parameter change allows the suture to distribute tensile loads across a broader area, increasing the anchor's strength while maintaining suture integrity under high loads.
Data Source
AI summary
A multi-suture knotless anchor and related method for securing soft tissue, such as tendons, to bone are described. The suture anchor includes a body, a sleeve, and an outer deformable bone locking structure. The bone locking structure has a first low profile configuration for insertion into the bone, and a second larger profile configuration for engaging the bone when actuated. The bone anchor and methods permit a suture attachment that lies beneath the cortical bone surface and does not require tying of knots in the suture.