Meniscus Suturing Device with Spherical Abutments
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing suturing devices for meniscus lacerations suffer from high stress on the meniscus due to planar plate structures, difficulty in assembly, limited thread diameter, and increased risk of additional lacerations and tissue damage from thin threads and complex knotting mechanisms.
Innovation Solution
A suturing device featuring a needle with a longitudinal cavity and spherical members connected by a junction element, allowing for reduced stress on the meniscus and increased thread size, with a sliding thread configuration that minimizes friction and tissue damage by eliminating unnecessary knots and containment cannulas.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If planar plate structures are used for members, then the device can be assembled with rectangular plates housed in the needle, but high stress occurs along the perimeter of the plates causing additional lacerations of the meniscus
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces the planar rectangular plate structure with a spherical member structure. The spherical shape distributes stress uniformly across the surface rather than concentrating it at the edges, eliminating the high stress points that cause additional lacerations. The spherical members are inserted through the needle and positioned on either side of the meniscus laceration, providing a more biocompatible stress distribution pattern.
2Ease of operation
If a grooved needle is used to guide the plates, then the plates can be linearly moved and positioned, but the needle occupies most of the space within the cannula limiting the thread diameter to no greater than 2-0 on the USP scale
Solution Approach 1:
The spherical members have a diameter that substantially corresponds to the inner diameter of the needle cavity, allowing them to fit snugly without requiring a grooved needle for guidance. This spherical configuration eliminates the need for the needle to occupy significant space, thereby increasing the available space for the surgical thread and allowing the use of larger diameter threads greater than 2-0 on the USP scale.
3Quantity of substance
If a thin surgical thread is used to increase the number of threads, then more threads can be accommodated, but the concentration of efforts increases causing a cutting effect when pulling
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the critical parameter from thread diameter to member (sphere) diameter. By using larger spherical members, the system can accommodate larger diameter surgical threads that distribute stress more effectively. The spherical members act as spacers and abutments that maintain proper spacing between the needle and the meniscus, preventing the thin thread from concentrating stress and causing a cutting effect during pulling.
4Reliability
If a containment cannula is used to maintain members and thread isolated from the external environment, then sterility is maintained, but the device complexity increases and assembly becomes more delicate
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts and eliminates the containment cannula from the system. The spherical members are designed to be inserted directly through the needle without requiring a separate containment cannula. The spherical shape and size are optimized to fit within the needle cavity, and the surgical thread is passed through the spheres and knotted externally, maintaining sterility during insertion while simplifying the overall device structure and making assembly less delicate.
5Ease of operation
If plates are released on the outside of the meniscus to define an abutment, then the surgical thread can be tensioned along the laceration, but the plates rotate on the surface causing assembly difficulties
Solution Approach 1:
The spherical members are designed to be released on the outside of the meniscus to define an abutment, allowing the surgical thread to be tensioned along the laceration. The spherical shape prevents rotation on the surface, as a sphere maintains stable contact points without rotating like flat plates would. This eliminates the assembly difficulties associated with plate rotation while maintaining the ability to tension the thread effectively.
Data Source
AI summary
A suturing device, in particular for suturing lacerations of the meniscus, including a needle provided with a longitudinal cavity developing along a main direction, at least a first and a second member slidably inserted in said cavity and arranged in succession along said main direction and a surgical thread slidably inserted in the cavity and connected to the first and the second member. The first and the second member each comprises at least a pair of bodies connected together by means of a junction element.