Segmented Tissue Fixation Device for Bone Tunnel Passage
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional tissue fixation devices for ligament reconstruction, such as cortical buttons, require significant bone removal and complicate surgery due to their large size, leading to increased surgical duration and patient morbidity.
Innovation Solution
An implantable tissue fixation device with first and second elongate, substantially rigid support members and a flexible member connecting them, allowing for a delivery configuration with reduced dimensions for easier passage through a bone tunnel and a deployed configuration for secure graft retention, utilizing a graft retention loop and sutures for stabilization.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a conventional cortical button fixation device is used, then secure graft-to-bone fixation is achieved, but the device requires substantial bone removal and complicates surgery due to its large size
Solution Approach 1:
The fixation device is divided into multiple discrete rigid support members (first and second support members) that are separate from each other, allowing them to be positioned in a non-intersecting orientation. This segmentation enables a smaller overall device footprint while maintaining fixation security through distributed support across multiple elements.
Solution Approach 2:
The rigid support members are arranged in a non-intersecting spatial orientation, utilizing three-dimensional space more efficiently. This dimensional arrangement allows the device to achieve secure fixation without requiring a large two-dimensional footprint, thereby reducing the bone tunnel diameter needed and minimizing bone removal.
2Reliability
If a cortical button fixation device is used, then graft retention is achieved, but surgical duration is extended and patient healing is delayed
Solution Approach 1:
The device comprises discrete rigid support members that can be independently positioned and secured. This segmentation allows for more efficient surgical placement compared to a single large button, reducing surgical duration while maintaining graft retention through the combined effect of multiple support elements.
Solution Approach 2:
The device incorporates a flexible member that connects the rigid support members, allowing the structure to adapt dynamically to the bone tunnel geometry. This dynamic adaptability facilitates easier insertion and positioning during surgery, reducing surgical time while ensuring secure graft retention once deployed.
3Volume of moving object
If the device dimensions are reduced for easier tunnel passage, then bone removal is minimized, but structural integrity may be compromised
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of reducing the size of a single large button, the device segments the support function into multiple smaller rigid members. Each member maintains sufficient structural integrity for load-bearing, while the collective arrangement achieves the required fixation security without compromising individual element strength.
Solution Approach 2:
The device combines rigid support members (providing structural integrity and load-bearing capacity) with a flexible connecting member (allowing adaptation and ease of passage). This composite construction enables the device to maintain strength while achieving a compact configuration suitable for smaller bone tunnels.
Data Source
AI summary
Devices and methods for fixating a graft tendon in a bone tunnel for a ligament reconstruction or repair procedure are provided. In general, the described implantable tissue fixation device includes first and second elongate, substantially rigid support members that are discrete elements separated from each other, and at least one flexible member connecting the rigid support members. The tissue fixation device can have changeable dimensions such that it has at least one dimension that is smaller in a delivery configuration than in a deployed configuration. In both delivery and deployed configurations, the first and second rigid support members are positioned in a non-intersecting orientation with respect to one another. A graft retention loop coupled to the tissue fixation device has the graft tendon coupled thereto and extending into the bone tunnel so as affix the graft into the bone.