Suture Anchor Wedge Locking Mechanism
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current suture anchor designs for repairing soft tissues to bone face challenges such as difficulty in adjusting and re-tensioning sutures, frictional losses leading to inadequate locking force, and the need for knots, which can result in suboptimal tension and discomfort for patients.
Innovation Solution
A suture anchor device with a movable suture locking wedge that allows for adjustable tension and re-tensioning, featuring a mechanism that compresses the suture between the wedge and the anchor body, eliminating the need for knots and minimizing frictional losses, enabling secure fixation and repositioning of soft tissues.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If a locking plug is forced into a cavity of the anchor body to secure the suture, then the need for knots is eliminated, but the suture tension cannot be properly controlled and may garrote the soft tissues or break the sutures
Solution Approach 1:
The locking member is designed to move between a locked position and an unlocked position, allowing dynamic adjustment of suture tension. The member can be forced into the locked position to secure the suture, or moved to the unlocked position to release and retension the suture, providing both knotless fixation and tension control.
Solution Approach 2:
The system allows changing the state of the locking member between locked and unlocked positions, and enables retensioning of the suture by applying additional tension. This parameter change capability provides both the benefit of eliminating knots and the ability to control suture tension reliably.
2Device complexity
If the locking member has minimal surface area for pinching or locking the sutures, then the anchor design is compact, but the suture is abraded or damaged compromising its load resistance
Solution Approach 1:
The locking member is provided with a sufficient surface area specifically at the locking interface to prevent suture abrasion and damage. This localized quality enhancement ensures the suture maintains its load resistance while the overall anchor design remains compact.
3Reliability
If suture anchors with locking mechanisms are used, then suture fixation is secure, but the suture cannot be adjusted or retensioned after fixation
Solution Approach 1:
The locking member is designed to be movable between locked and unlocked positions, transforming a static fixation system into a dynamic one. This allows the suture to be securely fixed when locked, but also enables adjustment and retensioning when unlocked, providing both security and adaptability.
Solution Approach 2:
The system allows the practitioner to self-adjust the suture tension by moving the locking member to the unlocked position, applying additional tension, and then relocking. This self-service capability provides both secure fixation and post-fixation adjustability without requiring additional components or procedures.
4Force
If frictional forces are present between the wedge and anchor body, then the locking force is reduced, but a guided wedge mechanism is required
Solution Approach 1:
The guiding mechanism is extracted from the anchor body, allowing the locking member to move freely within the anchor without contact constraints. This eliminates frictional forces between the locking member and anchor body, maximizing the locking force while simplifying the overall mechanism.
Solution Approach 2:
The suture itself serves as an intermediary that guides the locking member's movement rather than requiring a separate guiding mechanism. The locking member is forced along the suture's path, using the suture as a natural guide that eliminates the need for additional guiding structures.
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
The device allows for precise adjustment and re-tensioning of sutures, ensuring strong and reliable locking without frictional losses, facilitating minimally invasive surgeries and improving patient outcomes by reducing post-operative discomfort and surgical complexity.
Implementation Method 1
the suture is compressed between the suture locking wedge and a first contact location of the anchor body
Data Source
AI summary
A suture anchor device and method for attaching soft tissue to bone includes an anchor body and a suture locking wedge movably disposed within the anchor body. The suture locking wedge includes lateral portions which engage slots or windows in the anchor body. Tension applied to one limb of a suture causes the suture locking wedge to translate and rotate to a position which compresses the suture, thereby locking the suture in the anchor.