All-Suture Bone Anchor Collapsing Delivery Mechanism
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional bone anchors left behind foreign materials that can cause reactions and damage to articular cartilage, necessitating a method to reattach soft tissue to bone using only suture material.
Innovation Solution
An all-suture based anchor system comprising a tubular anchor body made of suture material with a distal tip and bore, where the suture is woven through and exits at the proximal end, and a delivery device with a handle and draw bar assembly to retract the anchor, ensuring no foreign material is left behind.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If conventional bone anchors are used to secure soft tissue to bone, then the attachment function is achieved, but foreign body reactions and damage to articular cartilage occur due to foreign materials
Solution Approach 1:
The invention extracts and removes the foreign material component from the bone anchor system. The anchor is constructed entirely from suture material that will be absorbed by the body, eliminating permanent foreign materials that cause reactions and cartilage damage while maintaining the attachment function through the suture's mechanical properties and absorption characteristics
Solution Approach 2:
The invention changes the material parameter of the bone anchor from permanent foreign materials (metal, non-absorbable polymer) to absorbable suture material. This parameter change transforms the anchor from a permanent implant to a temporary structure that provides mechanical support during healing then naturally degrades, eliminating long-term foreign body reactions
2Stability of the object's composition
If conventional bone anchors with foreign materials are used, then structural stability is provided, but the risk of loosening and movement into joint increases causing cartilage damage
Solution Approach 1:
The invention employs a disposable, short-lived anchor concept where the suture material anchor provides temporary structural stability during the critical healing period, then naturally degrades and is absorbed by the body. This eliminates the risk of long-term loosening and cartilage damage associated with permanent anchors, as the anchor naturally disappears after serving its purpose
3Object-affected harmful factors
If only suture material is used to create the anchor, then foreign body reactions are eliminated, but the structural complexity of creating a stable anchor increases
Solution Approach 1:
The invention merges the functions of the anchor body and the securing mechanism into a single integrated suture material structure. The suture is configured to form both the anchor portion that engages the bone and the tail portion for soft tissue attachment, eliminating the need for separate components and reducing overall structural complexity despite using only one material type
Solution Approach 2:
The suture material is segmented into functional zones: an anchor portion with specific structural characteristics for bone engagement, and a tail portion for soft tissue attachment. This segmentation allows each zone to be optimized for its specific function while maintaining overall simplicity by using a single material throughout
Data Source
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AI summary
A suture anchor (100) includes a tubular anchor body made of suture material, the tubular anchor body having a partially open distal tip and a bore (106) extending through the tubular anchor body to a proximal end of the tubular anchor body and a suture (120) woven from the distal tip and extending through the bore (106) and exiting through the proximal end, the suture (120) forming a suture loop (122) outside of the distal tip. The tubular anchor body is configured such that pulling an end of the suture (120) at the proximal end causes the tubular anchor body to collapse.