Suture Fastener Delivery With Reserve Loading and Suture Cutting
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing surgical instruments for securing sutures face challenges such as difficulty in precise deployment and the need to continually leave the sterile surgical field to obtain new fasteners, leading to inefficiencies and increased risk of infection.
Innovation Solution
A suture fastener delivery device with a controller, crimping jaws, and a shaft that includes a rail with reserve fasteners, a side suture slot, and a cutting blade, allowing for the deployment, crimping, and cutting of sutures with a single control mechanism, and automatic reloading of reserve fasteners without removing the device from the surgical site.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a traditional suture fastening instrument is used, then the clinician can secure sutures, but the instrument requires continual removal from the sterile field to reload fasteners, increasing infection risk and procedural time
Solution Approach 1:
The instrument is divided into a reusable handle assembly and a disposable distal tip assembly. The distal tip containing the fastener can be easily exchanged while remaining in the sterile field, eliminating the need to remove the entire instrument. This segmentation allows the critical fastening function to be performed repeatedly without contaminating the sterile environment.
Solution Approach 2:
Multiple fasteners are pre-loaded into the distal tip assembly in advance. The spring-loaded mechanism automatically positions the next fastener ready for deployment, eliminating waiting time between sutures. The preliminary loading of multiple fasteners allows continuous operation without interruption.
2Measurement precision
If manual suture fastening is performed, then the clinician can secure sutures, but precise deployment and intuitive operation are difficult to achieve
Solution Approach 1:
The spring-loaded fastener deployment mechanism is self-actuating through a simple push-button control. The user simply presses a button on the handle, and the spring automatically propels the fastener through the tissue. This eliminates complex manual manipulation requirements while maintaining high deployment precision.
Solution Approach 2:
The manual mechanical manipulation of fastener deployment is replaced with a spring-loaded automated ejection mechanism controlled by a single button. This substitution transforms a complex multi-step manual operation into a simple intuitive action, improving both precision and ease of use.
3Productivity
If multiple fasteners are carried in the instrument, then continuous suture fastening is possible, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
Multiple fasteners are nested within the distal tip assembly in a compact spring-loaded stack. The fasteners are arranged concentrically with the spring mechanism, allowing multiple items to occupy minimal space. This nesting enables continuous operation capability without significantly increasing the overall device footprint or complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The distal tip assembly serves multiple functions: it stores multiple fasteners, provides the fastening mechanism, and enables automatic deployment. This multi-functionality consolidates what would otherwise require separate components, reducing overall device complexity while enabling continuous operation.
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
Enables efficient and secure deployment of multiple sutures without leaving the surgical field, reducing procedural time and infection risk by allowing continuous operation within the sterile environment.
Implementation Method 1
The shaft further comprises a pusher element, and wherein in response to activation of the at least one control element, the pusher element pushes a most distal suture fastener of the reserve suture fasteners over the stack gate and into contact with the fastener delivery end. In at least one embodiment, the plurality of reserve suture fasteners are positioned as a spring-loaded stack.
Data Source
AI summary
A suture fastener delivery device includes a handle, a fastener delivery end comprising a suture fastener and crimping jaws, and a shaft extending between the handle and the fastener delivery end. The shaft comprises a rail, a plurality of reserve suture fasteners, a side suture slot positioned on a side of the shaft to allow the suture ends to exit the delivery device, and a suture cutting blade adjacent to the rail. The suture fastener delivery device can capture a suture within a side slot of the suture device, and upon activation of a trigger on the handle, crimp and bend the suture fastener to secure the fastener, and cut the excess suture ends via the cutting blade. A slider on the handle can then be used to reload a reserve suture fastener, such that additional fasteners can be deployed without removal of the delivery device from the surgical site.