T-fastener Suture Delivery Device with Sequential Ejection
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current suture delivery systems for gastropexy procedures require reloading and are time-consuming, complicating the process of securing the stomach wall to the abdominal wall for enteral feeding tube insertion.
Innovation Solution
A T-fastener-equipped suture delivery device with a single needle that pre-loads multiple sutures, allowing for successive ejection without reloading, using an ejection assembly with a manual actuator and push rod to deploy sutures in a spaced-apart configuration, enabling secure stomach wall fixation and subsequent enteral feeding tube insertion.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If multiple sutures are delivered using a single needle without reloading, then the productivity and efficiency of the suture placement process is improved, but the device complexity increases due to the need for an ejection assembly capable of successive suture deployment
Solution Approach 1:
The ejection assembly is segmented into distinct functional components: a push rod for actuating ejection, a spring mechanism for resetting, and individual ejection positions for each suture. This segmentation allows the complex function of successive suture deployment to be achieved through simple, modular mechanical elements that can be operated sequentially
Solution Approach 2:
Multiple sutures are pre-loaded into the needle in a stacked configuration before the procedure begins. The ejection assembly is pre-configured with spring-loaded mechanisms at each ejection position. This preliminary preparation eliminates the need for reloading during the procedure, as all sutures are ready for immediate sequential deployment
2Reliability
If multiple T-fastener-equipped sutures are pre-loaded in a triangle arrangement, then the reliability of stomach wall fixation is improved, but the device complexity increases due to the need for precise spatial arrangement and successive ejection mechanisms
Solution Approach 1:
The sutures are arranged in a triangular configuration within the needle, utilizing three-dimensional spatial arrangement rather than simple linear stacking. This triangular geometry provides stable fixation when deployed, as the three sutures create a stable base that distributes tension evenly across the stomach wall attachment point
Solution Approach 2:
The ejection assembly is designed to deploy sutures in a sequential, periodic manner rather than all at once. Each suture is ejected in succession through repeated actuation of the push rod, allowing the clinician to deploy one suture at a time in a controlled sequence, ensuring proper placement and tensioning of each suture before deploying the next
Data Source
AI summary
A delivery device for inserting a plurality of T-fastener-equipped sutures into a body of a patient in a spaced-apart configuration for the purpose of securing the stomach wall against the abdominal wall, also known as gastropexy, is disclosed. The suture delivery device is configured to deliver multiple sutures using a single needle and without need for reloading, saving time and effort for the clinician and simplifying the suture placement process. In one embodiment, a T-fastener-equipped suture delivery device comprises a housing, a hollow needle extending from the housing, and a plurality of T-fastener-equipped sutures at least partially disposed within one of the needle and the housing. An ejection assembly for successively ejecting the T-fasteners from a distal end of the needle without reloading the delivery device is also included in the housing.