Surgical Anchor Delivery System for Intracorporeal Tissue Suturing

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Solution Overview

Problem

Intracorporeal suturing during surgery is challenging due to the difficulty in manipulating suturing instruments within small incisions and the inability to visually see the suture site, making it hard to deliver and tie sutures effectively.

Innovation Solution

A surgical system comprising an anchor and an introducer that allows the anchor to be delivered to an intracorporeal tissue site through a cannula, with a suture attached to the anchor, enabling secure placement and ligation outside the incision site, and subsequent attachment to the periosteum tissue without the need for additional tools or incisions.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Area of stationary object

If the surgeon manipulates suturing instruments within a small incision, then the incision size is minimized, but the ability to see the suture site is lost and manipulation difficulty increases

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveincision sizeVSAvoidmanipulation difficulty

Core Design Contradiction:

Area of stationary objectVSEase of operation

Solution Approach 1:

The patent introduces a delivery system with a cannula and guide structure that acts as an intermediary tool. This system provides a defined pathway through the small incision, allowing the suture needle to be accurately delivered to the intracorporeal site without requiring the surgeon to manually manipulate instruments through the confined space, thus maintaining small incision size while improving ease of operation

Inventive Principle:

Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

Solution Approach 2:

The delivery system is pre-configured with the suture needle and anchor assembly before insertion. The cannula and guide structures are prepared in advance to create the necessary pathway, allowing the surgeon to simply advance the pre-assembled system through the incision rather than assembling and manipulating multiple components during the procedure

Inventive Principle:

Principle #10Preliminary action

2Area of stationary object

If the surgeon delivers the suture near a landmark by digital palpation, then the incision remains small, but the precision of suture placement is reduced

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveincision sizeVSAvoidsuture placement precision

Core Design Contradiction:

Area of stationary objectVSMeasurement precision

Solution Approach 1:

The delivery system serves as a precise intermediary tool that translates the surgeon's external manipulation into accurate intracorporeal needle placement. The cannula and guide structures provide mechanical guidance that ensures the suture needle follows the correct trajectory to reach the precise anatomical target, eliminating the need for imprecise digital palpation

Inventive Principle:

Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

Solution Approach 2:

The patent replaces the surgeon's digital palpation method with a mechanically guided delivery system. Instead of relying on tactile sensation and manual estimation, the system uses the rigid cannula and guide structures to mechanically ensure accurate needle placement at the intended landmark, significantly improving placement precision

Inventive Principle:

Principle #28Mechanics substitution (Replace mechanical system)

3Reliability

If the surgeon ties the suture inside the patient at the intracorporeal site, then the suture is secured, but the visibility and ease of tying is reduced

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvesuture securityVSAvoidtying difficulty

Core Design Contradiction:

ReliabilityVSEase of operation

Solution Approach 1:

The patent inverts the traditional suturing sequence by delivering the suture needle through the small incision to place the anchor, then retrieving the suture tail externally. This allows the surgeon to tie the suture knot outside the patient's body where visibility and manipulation are easy, while still achieving secure intracorporeal anchoring. The tying operation is performed in reverse order of traditional suturing

Inventive Principle:

Principle #13The other way round (Inversion)

4Measurement precision

If additional tools or incisions are used to deliver the anchor, then the delivery precision is improved, but the device complexity and surgical invasiveness increase

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvedelivery precisionVSAvoidnumber of tools

Core Design Contradiction:

Measurement precisionVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The patent combines multiple functions into a single integrated delivery system. The cannula, guide structures, and anchor delivery mechanism are merged into one unified device that can be inserted through a single incision. This eliminates the need for multiple separate tools and additional incisions while maintaining precise delivery capability through the integrated mechanical guidance system

Inventive Principle:

Principle #5Merging (Combining)

Data Source

PatentEP2727539B1Surgical system including an anchor insertable into a cannula of an introducer

Publication Date: 2018.01.17 COLOPLAST AS

Figure 1
Figure 2A~2B
Figure 2C

AI summary

A surgical system (20) includes an anchor (22) and an introducer (24) provided to deliver the anchor into tissue. The anchor includes a body (30) having a pointed leading end (32) that is configured to pierce the tissue, a spine (34) projecting radially away from the body and having a width and a height configured to allow the spine to engage with the tissue, an eyelet (36) attached to a trailing end of the body, and a length of suture (23) attached to the eyelet. The introducer includes a cannula (40) with a pointed distal end (44), an opening (46) formed in the cannula that is sized to receive the body of the anchor, and a slot (92) formed in a wall of the cannula at a distal end portion of the cannula and sized to receive the width of the spine.