Suture Transport Guide With Expandable Retention Aperture
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current methods for transporting and retrieving flexible members like sutures through tissue tunnels are time-consuming and challenging, especially in constrained areas, often requiring additional skin incisions to visualize and grasp the suture, which increases procedure time and leaves unnecessary scars.
Innovation Solution
A system and method that includes a guide with an aperture to receive and retain the flexible member, using an expandable element to prevent retraction, allowing the flexible member to act as a shuttle to draw secondary elements into the tunnel, with options like all-suture anchors, toggle implants, or cortical buttons to maintain the suture in place.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If manual retrieval of flexible member through additional skin incision is used, then the flexible member can be visualized and grasped, but procedure time increases and unnecessary skin scars are created
Solution Approach 1:
A suture transport device acts as an intermediary tool that facilitates the retrieval of the flexible member through the existing skin incision. The device includes a capture member that grasps the flexible member and a transport mechanism that draws it through the tunnel without requiring additional incisions, thus maintaining ease of operation while avoiding the downsides of manual retrieval methods
2Ease of operation
If manual retrieval of flexible member through additional skin incision is used, then the flexible member can be visualized and grasped, but unnecessary skin scars are created
Solution Approach 1:
The suture transport device serves as a mediator that enables flexible member retrieval through the original skin incision site, eliminating the need for additional incisions. This approach maintains surgical effectiveness while avoiding the creation of unnecessary skin scars, directly addressing the harmful effect
3Device complexity
If flexible member is pushed through tunnel without retention mechanism, then transportation is simple, but flexible member may retract back into tunnel
Solution Approach 1:
The capture member is pre-positioned at the distal end of the tunnel before the flexible member is fully transported. This preliminary placement ensures that when the flexible member arrives, it is immediately captured and retained, preventing retraction while maintaining a relatively simple transportation mechanism
4Reliability
If flexible member is to be reliably captured at tunnel end, then retention mechanism is needed, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The retention function is localized to specific components of the device (the capture member at the distal end) rather than requiring a complex system throughout. This localized approach provides reliable capture functionality while keeping the overall device complexity manageable by concentrating the sophisticated elements only where needed
Data Source
AI summary
A suture transport system is disclosure for placing a flexible member along a tunnel, the system including a means of transporting a flexible member along a tunnel from a first opening in the tunnel through to a second opening at an opposite end of the tunnel, such that the flexible member extends from both the first and second opening. The system also includes a means of capturing a portion of the flexible member at the second opening, to inhibit the flexible member from retracting into the tunnel second opening. The means of capturing includes an aperture for capturing the portion of the flexible member.