Releasable Suture Clamp With Rotatable Stackable Components
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Solution Overview
Problem
Knotting sutures for securing tissues or maintaining tension is time-consuming, requires dexterity, and once set, cannot be easily adjusted or removed without replacing the suture, limiting flexibility in medical procedures.
Innovation Solution
A releasable suture clamp with independent stackable components rotatable about a common axis, allowing the clamp to transition between clamped and unclamped configurations, enabling easy adjustment of suture tension without knots, by aligning or misaligning openings to define a linear or serpentine path for the suture.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If knots are used to secure sutures, then suture tension can be maintained, but the procedure becomes time-consuming and requires dexterity
Solution Approach 1:
The suture clamp is designed to be self-actuating through a spring mechanism that automatically clamps the suture when the clamp body is inserted. The user simply needs to insert the clamp and release the button, and the spring automatically applies clamping force to secure the suture, eliminating the need for manual knot-tying operations.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces the manual mechanical process of knot-tying with an automated spring-based clamping mechanism. The spring-loaded clamp body provides the mechanical force to secure the suture, substituting the complex manual dexterity required for knotting with a simpler automated mechanical system.
2Reliability
If knots are used to secure sutures, then suture tension can be maintained, but the suture cannot be easily adjusted or removed
Solution Approach 1:
The suture clamp transitions from a static knotted state to a dynamic releasable state. The spring mechanism allows the clamp to be easily released by pressing the button, enabling real-time adjustment of suture tension and repositioning without removing the suture entirely. This dynamic system provides both secure holding and easy adaptability.
Solution Approach 2:
The clamp allows temporary discarding of the clamped state by releasing the button, enabling adjustment or repositioning of the suture. The spring mechanism then recovers the clamping function, allowing the suture to be re-secured at a new position or tension level without needing to discard the suture itself.
3Force
If additional knots are created to increase suture tension, then suture tension increases, but the procedure becomes more complex and time-consuming
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of changing the knotting configuration to increase tension, the patent changes the physical parameter of the clamp mechanism - specifically, the spring force and clamp geometry. By adjusting these parameters, the desired tension can be achieved through the clamp's mechanical advantage rather than through complex knot configurations.
Data Source
AI summary
A suture anchor assembly includes a length of suture having an anchor attached to an end thereof. A releasable suture clamp is disposed in a clamped configuration about the suture. The releasable suture clamp includes a plurality of independent stackable components rotatable about a common axis, which is transverse to opposing faces of the stackable components. Each of the stackable components has a first opening passing through the opposing faces, spaced from the common axis, and sized for receiving the suture therethrough. The releasable suture clamp has an unclamped configuration in which the first openings are aligned relative to an alignment axis and the clamped configuration in which the first openings are misaligned relative to the alignment axis, wherein the alignment axis is parallel to the common axis.