Knotless Suture Anchor With Sliding Construct
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional suture anchors face challenges such as knot irritation, rigid materials causing tissue damage, and inadequate tissue positioning over bone holes, especially during arthroscopic procedures, due to the need for knot tying and constant driver engagement.
Innovation Solution
A knotless suture anchor system with a sliding construct and threader assembly, utilizing soft materials and a sliding knot mechanism that adjusts tissue position without the need for knot tying, allowing for secure fixation and tensioning of sutures directly over the bone hole.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If a sliding knot is tied to provide tissue tensioning control, then tissue positioning is improved, but knot irritation and post-operative pain increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the harmful knot element from the suture anchor system by using a pre-tied barbed suture that eliminates the need for surgeon-tied sliding knots. The barbed suture's inherent friction and mechanical locking features provide tissue tensioning control without requiring additional knots, thereby removing the source of knot irritation while preserving the functional benefit of controlled tissue positioning.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces a driverless deployment mechanism as an intermediary that allows the suture to be tensioned and positioned without requiring the surgeon to manually tie and manipulate knots. The system uses a pre-configured barbed suture that self-locks into the tissue and bone, serving as a mediator between the anchor and tissue that eliminates the need for harmful sliding knots while maintaining tensioning control.
2Reliability
If conventional suture anchors are used with knot tying, then secure fixation is achieved, but surgical time and complexity increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies preliminary action by pre-tying the barbed suture in a specific configuration before implantation. The suture is manufactured with pre-formed bars and a pre-configured loop structure that enables immediate secure fixation upon deployment, eliminating the need for time-consuming knot-tying steps during surgery. The pre-configured structure ensures reliable fixation is achieved as soon as the suture is tensioned and deployed.
Solution Approach 2:
The barbed suture performs self-service by automatically locking into the tissue and bone through its inherent barbed structure and friction features. The suture self-tensions and self-secures without requiring surgeon manipulation or additional knot-tying steps, thereby achieving secure fixation rapidly while reducing surgical time and procedural complexity.
3Strength
If rigid materials are used in suture anchors, then structural strength is improved, but tissue damage increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality by using soft, flexible suture material rather than rigid materials throughout the entire suture anchor system. The barbed suture is constructed from soft polymer or biocompatible material that maintains structural strength through its barbed geometry and friction-based locking mechanism rather than material rigidity. This local quality change eliminates tissue damage from rigid materials while preserving the necessary structural strength for secure fixation.
4Stability of the object's composition
If a driver is engaged with the anchor during tensioning, then anchor stability is maintained, but tissue positioning precision deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the driver component from the deployment system, creating a driverless suture anchor mechanism. The pre-configured barbed suture with its self-locking features can be deployed and tensioned without driver engagement, allowing the tissue to be positioned precisely directly over the bone hole without the driver obstructing the path or limiting adjustment range. Anchor stability is maintained through the suture's inherent friction and mechanical locking features rather than driver engagement.
Data Source
AI summary
An anchor construct having an anchor having a length of suture material passing therethrough, the suture material having a loop strand terminating at a first end and a post strand terminating at a second end, a splice loop formed by first end, a sliding construct formed by the first end and the second end, wherein the sliding construct is configured to adjust the relative position of the splice loop and the anchor. The anchor construct can be deployed by passing the first end through a first body and through the splice, creating a locking loop of a first size around the first body, implanting the anchor into a bone hole, pulling the post strand to decrease the perimeter of the positioning loop to a second size smaller than the first size, and pulling the loop strand to decrease the perimeter of the locking loop to a smaller second size.