Self-Retaining Suture with Detachable Insertion Device
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current self-retaining suture technologies lack a method for inserting a suture with converging retainer patterns without an attached needle, which can cause tissue damage and suture migration, especially in constrained surgical environments, and there is no system for accurately placing sutures with minimal disruption to surrounding tissue.
Innovation Solution
A continuous loop suture with converging retainers along its length is inserted into the body using a detachable suture insertion device that remains within the body, allowing for precise placement and minimization of tissue disruption, and the device is designed to retract along the insertion pathway, preventing suture migration.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Object-affected harmful factors
If a traditional attached needle suture system is used, then the suture can be inserted into tissue, but the needle must be retrieved through the tissue which causes tissue damage and creates migration pathways
Solution Approach 1:
The suture system is divided into two separate components: a detachable insertion device and a suture with converging retainers. The insertion device can be removed through the same pathway it entered, while the suture remains in place with its retainers facing the insertion direction, eliminating the need to retrieve a needle through tissue.
Solution Approach 2:
The harmful needle retrieval operation is extracted from the procedure. The insertion device is designed to be removable through the insertion pathway, separating the insertion function from the retrieval function, and eliminating tissue damage from needle retrieval.
2Strength
If retainers are positioned to resist movement in all directions, then the suture provides strong tissue binding, but the retainer insertion becomes difficult and causes tissue damage
Solution Approach 1:
The retainer configuration is made asymmetric by having all retainers converge in one direction (facing the insertion direction). This asymmetric arrangement allows retainers to be inserted easily in the insertion direction while providing strong resistance to movement in the opposite direction, eliminating the need for bidirectional retainer insertion.
3Object-affected harmful factors
If a detachable insertion device is used, then tissue disruption is minimized, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The insertion device is designed to be self-contained and detachable, where the device performs the insertion function and then can be removed through the same pathway. The suture with converging retainers is self-anchoring in the insertion direction, eliminating the need for additional anchoring mechanisms or complex retrieval operations.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This approach minimizes tissue damage, ensures accurate suture placement, reduces the risk of suture migration, and facilitates minimally invasive procedures with reduced recovery time and costs by eliminating the need for needle retrieval pathways.
Implementation Method 1
The retainers are configured such that when the length of suture is inserted into the tissue of a mammal the retainers generally flex toward the body during insertion where damage to the tissue by the retainers is minimized, and the retainers generally resist movement when the suture is pulled in a direction opposed to the insertion pathway
Data Source
AI summary
A method and device for anchoring a length of self-retaining suture. The method of anchoring includes providing for an assembly having a length of self-retaining suture and a suture insertion device. The length of suture includes at least a portion of the length having a plurality of retainers thereon extending in a first direction. The insertion device has a length and a recess to receive a portion of the suture length. The method further includes placing a portion of the suture length in the recess and inserting the device into the body of a mammal until the recess reaches a predetermined location thereby forming an insertion pathway. The method further includes retrieving the insertion device from the body by moving the insertion device in a direction substantially opposed to the insertion pathway.