Tissue Button With Non-Circular Cross-Pin for Selective Suture Control
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing tissue button technologies fail to securely anchor soft tissue to bone while allowing selective suture manipulation, as they lack a mechanism to prevent unintended suture pulling.
Innovation Solution
A tissue button design featuring a body, a pivoting door, and a non-circular cross-pin that secures the door to the body, allowing one suture portion to be pulled while preventing another, utilizing a spring force to bias the door to a closed position and engage teeth to secure the suture.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a tissue button allows a suture to be pulled freely, then soft tissue can be secured to bone, but unintended suture pulling cannot be prevented
Solution Approach 1:
The door is designed to pivot between an open position (allowing suture manipulation) and a closed position (preventing suture pulling). The cross-pin allows the door to dynamically change position based on applied force, transitioning from a locked state during installation to a locked state during use, thereby resolving the contradiction between secure attachment and selective manipulation.
Solution Approach 2:
The door acts as an intermediary mechanism between the suture and the bone. It controls the interaction by being movable during installation (allowing suture passage) and fixed during use (preventing suture pulling), thus mediating between the conflicting requirements of secure attachment and selective manipulation.
2Ease of operation
If a mechanism is added to prevent unintended suture pulling, then selective suture manipulation is enabled, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The cross-pin is designed to flex automatically under load, causing the door to pivot to the closed position without requiring additional actuators or controls. The spring force in the cross-pin provides self-powered operation, enabling selective suture manipulation while minimizing added complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The cross-pin's flexibility parameter allows it to deform under specific loading conditions (during installation), enabling door movement. After installation, the cross-pin returns to its original shape, locking the door in place. This parameter change approach enables the locking mechanism without complex additional components.
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
Effectively secures soft tissue to bone by allowing controlled suture manipulation and preventing unwanted pulling, ensuring stable tissue attachment during surgical procedures.
Implementation Method 1
The cross-pin flexes to move the portion of the door into the body passage of the body to the closed position
Implementation Method 2
When the first portion of the suture is not being pulled, the flexed cross-pin can provide a spring force to bias the door to the closed position
Implementation Method 3
The cross-pin has a longitudinal axis, and a cross-section of the cross-pin taken perpendicular to the longitudinal axis is non-circular
Data Source
AI summary
A tissue button includes a body, a door, and a cross-pin that secures the door to the body. The door pivots relative to the body between an open position and a closed position. A first portion of a suture can be pulled when the door is in the open position, and a second portion of the suture cannot be pulled when the door is in the closed position. A cross-section of the cross-pin taken perpendicular to a longitudinal axis is non-circular.