Surgical Filament Securement Anchor With Dilated Knot
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing surgical filament securement assemblies face challenges in securely tightening sutures, particularly in tight joints, where conventional sliding knots can be difficult to tie and secure, and may slip or damage surrounding tissue.
Innovation Solution
A surgical filament securement assembly featuring an anchor with a channel through which a surgical filament is passed, forming a dilated knot with at least one throw around a dilater member at the channel entrance. When the dilater member is removed, the dilated knot strangulates to form a tightened stopper knot, preventing the filament from passing through the channel.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If conventional sliding knots are used to tighten sutures, then the suture can be secured to the anchor, but the knot may slip or be difficult to secure reliably
Solution Approach 1:
A dilater member is introduced as an intermediary tool to facilitate knot formation and securing. The dilater member is inserted through the anchor channel, and the suture is passed around it to form a dilated knot. When the dilater member is removed, the dilated knot constricts to form a secure stopper knot, eliminating the need for complex manual knot tying while ensuring reliable security.
Solution Approach 2:
The dilated knot is formed preliminarily around the dilater member before the actual securing action. This preliminary configuration allows the suture to be properly positioned and pre-tensioned, making the final securing step simpler and more reliable. The dilater member serves as a template for the final knot structure.
2Reliability
If conventional sliding knots are used, then the suture can be tightened, but the knot size may be obstructive and damage cartilage or tissue by abrasion
Solution Approach 1:
The dilater member acts as a mediator that guides the suture through the anchor channel and facilitates knot formation in a controlled manner. By using the dilater member as a template, the resulting stopper knot has a optimized size and shape that minimizes tissue contact and abrasion while maintaining effective suture tightening capability.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention changes the physical parameters of the knot by forming it around a dilater member of specific dimensions. This results in a stopper knot with controlled size, shape, and tension characteristics that are optimized to prevent tissue damage while maintaining securing effectiveness. The dilater member's dimensions directly influence the final knot parameters.
3Reliability
If additional half hitches are thrown to protect against loosening, then loop security is improved, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The invention extracts and eliminates the need for multiple half hitches by using a single dilated knot that constricts to form a secure stopper knot. The dilater member enables this simplified approach by providing a template that ensures the knot achieves sufficient security in a single configuration, removing the need for additional protective components.
Solution Approach 2:
By changing the formation method of the knot (using a dilater member template), the invention achieves high loop security with a single knot configuration. The dilated knot's constriction around the dilater member creates inherent security against loosening, eliminating the need for multiple components or additional half hitches.
Data Source
AI summary
A surgical filament securement assembly has an anchor having a channel therethrough through which a surgical filament is passed. The surgical filament is tied to form a dilated knot having at least one throw around a dilater member at an entrance of the channel such that the surgical filament is able to run around the dilater member when a limb thereof is pulled in a first direction through the channel whilst the dilated knot remains in place. When the dilater member is pulled out from within the dilated knot, the dilated knot itself strangulates to form a tightened stopper knot. The channel has a diameter less than that of the tightened stopper knot such that the tightened stopper knot cannot pass through the entrance in the first direction.