Suture Retention Hub Aperture Alignment
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing suture retention methods, such as external stitches and retention devices, are uncomfortable for patients, prone to bacterial contamination, and can cause skin abrasion or necrosis due to their high profile and material composition, while also posing challenges for healthcare providers in recognizing and managing the sutures.
Innovation Solution
A low-profile suture retention hub with a movable handle and soft, resilient cover that aligns apertures to secure the suture in place, preventing movement and providing adjustable tension, constructed from biocompatible materials like medical grade polycarbonate, polypropylene, and silicone to ensure ease of cleaning and comfort.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If traditional retention devices with cotton balls, plastic washers, and metal crimps are used, then suture retention is achieved, but the device profile becomes high (1.9 cm or more) causing skin abrasion and necrosis
Solution Approach 1:
The hub is divided into multiple functional segments: a base portion with first aperture, a handle portion with second aperture, and a resilient cover. This segmentation allows each component to perform its specific function while maintaining an overall low profile that prevents skin damage.
Solution Approach 2:
A resilient cover made of flexible material is applied over the hub components. This thin film provides cushioning between the rigid hub structures and the patient's skin, preventing abrasion and necrosis while maintaining the low profile necessary to avoid clothing interference.
2Reliability
If cotton balls are used in retention devices, then suture retention is achieved, but bacterial contamination risk increases due to difficulty in cleaning
Solution Approach 1:
The cotton ball component is completely removed from the design. Instead, the hub uses aperture alignment and frictional engagement of smooth, non-absorbent surfaces to retain the suture, eliminating the porous material that harbors bacteria while maintaining reliable suture retention.
Solution Approach 2:
The hub is constructed from homogeneous, non-porous materials (polycarbonate, polypropylene, silicone) that do not absorb fluids and can be easily cleaned and sterilized, eliminating the heterogeneous combination of cotton, plastic, and metal that creates cleaning difficulties.
3Reliability
If external stitches are used to secure the suture, then suture retention is achieved, but patient comfort decreases and healthcare provider confusion increases
Solution Approach 1:
The hub combines the suture retention function and the external anchoring function into a single integrated device. The T-bar fastener and hub work together as one system, eliminating the need for separate external stitches while maintaining secure retention and improving patient comfort through a low-profile design.
Solution Approach 2:
The hub is provided in distinctive colors (red, blue, green, yellow, purple, black, white, clear) that make it easily recognizable to healthcare providers as a retention device, eliminating confusion about the purpose of external components and preventing accidental removal.
4Reliability
If multiple components (cotton ball, plastic tubing, metal crimps) are used, then suture retention is achieved, but device complexity and cleaning difficulty increase
Solution Approach 1:
Multiple functions are merged into fewer components. The hub integrates the retention mechanism (through aperture alignment), the anchoring structure (base and handle portions), and the protective element (resilient cover) into a single device, eliminating the need for separate cotton balls, plastic washers, and metal crimps.
Solution Approach 2:
The hub uses homogeneous, non-porous materials throughout its construction, replacing the heterogeneous combination of absorbent cotton, rigid plastic, and metal. This homogeneous material composition simplifies cleaning and sterilization while maintaining effective suture retention.
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 hub effectively secures sutures with adjustable tension, reduces skin irritation, and is easily recognizable and manageable for healthcare providers, minimizing the risk of bacterial contamination and skin damage while maintaining a low profile to prevent clothing interference.
Implementation Method 1
The hub is desirably formed at least partially from a material which has excellent biocompatibility and ease of cleaning. Such a material would desirably be soft and provide cushioning against a patient's skin, to prevent abrasion and/or necrosis.
Implementation Method 2
The aperture in the base and the aperture in the handle are substantially in an axial alignment when the handle is positioned transversely relative to an upper surface of the base. In this position, a suture positioned in the apertures moves readily through the apertures.
Implementation Method 3
The aperture in the base and the aperture in the handle are substantially out of an axial alignment when an upper surface of the handle is positioned in a parallel alignment relative to the upper surface of the base. In this position, a suture positioned in the apertures is frictionally crimped in its position in the handle and the base, respectively, thereby preventing movement of the suture within the hub.
Data Source
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AI summary
A suture retention hub is provided. It includes a base configured to moveably hold a handle within at least a portion of the base. The base has an aperture which extends through the base. The hub also includes a handle configured to moveably fit into the portion of the base. The handle has an aperture formed therethough as well. When a suture is positioned in the apertures and the base and handle are positioned such that the apertures are substantially in an axial alignment, the suture moves readily through the apertures in the hub. Then the base and handle are positioned such that the apertures are not in a substantial axial alignment, the suture is frictionally crimped and it is prevented from moving through the hub.