Double-Pointed Suture Needle Crimping for Fast Secure Attachment
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing methods for securing sutures to double-pointed medical suture needles lack precision, efficiency, and reliability, particularly in industrial-scale applications where fast and secure attachment is crucial.
Innovation Solution
A crimping device comprising a lower block and an upper block with grooves configured to accommodate the suture and the needle, featuring a protrusion at the intercept of the grooves to deform the needle and secure the suture when pressed together.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If a double-pointed needle is transferred between two jaws repeatedly in an automated fashion, then the wound can be closed efficiently, but the crimping process becomes complex and requires precise control of pressure and position
Solution Approach 1:
The crimping device is segmented into a lower block and an upper block that can be pressed against each other. Each block has independently configured grooves for accommodating the needle and suture, allowing the complex crimping operation to be divided into simpler, modular components that are easier to control and manufacture
Solution Approach 2:
The grooves in the blocks are designed to automatically position and align the needle and suture during the crimping process. The geometry of the grooves itself provides the positioning function, eliminating the need for additional complex alignment mechanisms or precise manual control
2Adaptability or versatility
If the suture is threaded on site using an eyed needle, then different thread and needle combinations are possible, but the process is time-consuming
Solution Approach 1:
The suture is pre-threaded through the double-pointed needle before the crimping operation. The crimping device then secures the pre-threaded suture to the needle in a single fast operation, eliminating the time-consuming on-site threading process while maintaining the ability to use different suture and needle combinations
3Object-affected harmful factors
If the needle end and suture are joined as a continuous unit in a swaged needle, then tissue trauma is minimized, but the manufacturing process lacks precision and reliability
Solution Approach 1:
The grooves in the blocks are designed with specific local geometries that concentrate the crimping force precisely where needed - at the intersection of the needle and suture. This localized precision ensures reliable attachment while maintaining the continuous unit structure that minimizes tissue trauma
4Manufacturing precision
If precision is required in both pressure application and position for crimping, then secure attachment is achieved, but the process becomes slow and inefficient
Solution Approach 1:
The grooves are arranged in substantially perpendicular orientations - one groove extends in a first direction while the other extends in a second direction perpendicular to the first. This perpendicular arrangement allows precise positioning of both needle and suture simultaneously, achieving secure attachment in a single pressing motion rather than requiring multiple sequential adjustments
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 crimping device provides an efficient, reliable, and fast method for securing sutures to double-pointed medical suture needles, enabling pre-packaging of needles with attached sutures for use in automated or semi-automated suturing devices.
Implementation Method 1
the protrusions cause a deformation of the double-pointed medical suture needle, preferably from two opposite sides of the double-pointed medical suture needle. The deformation bonds the suture to the double-pointed medical suture needle
Data Source
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AI summary
The present disclosure relates to a crimping device for securing a suture to a double-pointed medical suture needle, the crimping device comprising: a lower block and an upper block that can be pressed against each other to secure the suture to the double-pointed medical suture needle, each of the lower block and upper block comprising: a first groove configured to accommodate the suture; and a second groove configured to accommodate the double-pointed medical suture needle, the second groove extending in a second groove extension substantially perpendicular to a first groove extension of the first groove, wherein the second groove comprises a protrusion at an intercept of the first groove and second groove. The disclosure further relates to a method of securing at least one suture to at least one double-pointed medical suture needle.