Suture Manipulating Instrument with Axially Sliding Hook
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing surgical instruments face challenges in accessing and manipulating delicate or fragile sutures during arthroscopic procedures, particularly in tight spaces, and struggle to prevent suture fraying and release.
Innovation Solution
A suture manipulating instrument with a needle and axially moveable hook that can lock, capture, and release sutures, featuring a hook with a distal leg that inhibits rotation and a graduated needle opening to reduce compression forces, ensuring secure holding and easy manipulation of sutures without damage.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If a sliding hook passer is used to access tight spaces, then access to tight spaces is improved, but suture protection from fraying is compromised
Solution Approach 1:
The instrument is divided into distinct functional segments: a needle for tissue piercing, a hook for suture capture, and a lumen for suture containment. This segmentation allows each component to be optimized for its specific function while working together as an integrated system that protects delicate sutures during passage through tight spaces
Solution Approach 2:
The hook is nested within the needle lumen, and the suture is nested within the hook. This nested configuration allows the suture to be protected within the hook structure while the hook itself is protected within the needle lumen, enabling access to tight spaces without exposing the delicate suture to damaging forces
2Adaptability or versatility
If a multifunctional suture passer is used, then multiple functions are provided, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The instrument integrates multiple functions into a single device: the needle pierces tissue, the hook captures and holds suture, the lumen contains and protects suture, and the coordinated movement of these components enables suture passage, retrieval, and manipulation. This universal design provides comprehensive suture management capability without requiring multiple separate instruments
Solution Approach 2:
The patent merges the tissue piercing function (needle), suture capture function (hook), and suture containment function (lumen) into a single integrated instrument. This combining of functions reduces the number of separate devices needed while maintaining simplicity through a unified structural design where components work together seamlessly
3Ease of operation
If the hook extends from the distal opening to capture suture, then suture capture is improved, but suture release control becomes challenging
Solution Approach 1:
The hook is designed to be axially movable relative to the needle, transitioning between retracted and extended positions. This dynamic configuration allows the hook to extend for suture capture and retract for secure holding, with the movement controlled by the operator through the handle mechanism, providing intuitive control without complex additional mechanisms
Data Source
AI summary
An instrument for manipulating and passing suture through a tissue is disclosed. The instrument includes a handle and a needle. The needle includes a lumen and terminates with a distal opening and a sharp edge surface for piercing tissue. The instrument also includes a hook, axially slideable within the needle lumen and through the needle distal opening. The hook may axially slide between a suture-locking configuration, a suture-sliding configuration and a suture release and capture configuration. The instrument may include improvements that better protect smaller and more fragile sutures.