Toggle Bolt Suture Anchor with Flexible Inserter Rod
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current button anchors used in soft tissue graft securing procedures face challenges in efficiently and accurately placing the anchor against the bone surface during surgeries like ACL replacement, leading to potential instability and complications.
Innovation Solution
The development of tissue anchors with a substantially planar body, channel, and inserter rods featuring engagement structures such as tapers, threads, hooks, or eyelets, allowing for removable affixation and facilitating easier passage through bone tunnels with flexible inserter rods that can bend to accommodate anatomical constraints, ensuring secure seating of the anchor against the bone surface.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If traditional button anchors are used to secure tissue grafts, then the graft can be anchored to bone, but the placement efficiency and accuracy against the bone surface deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The device is divided into two separate components: an anchor that is first secured to the tissue graft, and a separate inserter rod that is used to deliver and position the anchor against the bone surface. This segmentation allows each component to be optimized for its specific function, improving both placement efficiency and accuracy.
Solution Approach 2:
The inserter rod acts as an intermediary tool that facilitates the precise placement of the anchor against the bone surface. The rod provides a controlled delivery mechanism that enables accurate positioning while maintaining ease of operation during the surgical procedure.
2Ease of manufacture
If the inserter rod is made rigid for structural stability, then manufacturing is simplified, but the ability to accommodate anatomical constraints during insertion deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The inserter rod transitions from a rigid structure during manufacturing to a flexible structure during insertion. The rod incorporates flexibility features that allow it to bend and conform to the anatomical constraints of the bone tunnel while maintaining sufficient structural integrity for delivering the anchor.
Solution Approach 2:
The mechanical properties of the inserter rod are changed to provide both rigidity and flexibility. The rod is designed with varying stiffness along its length or at specific sections, allowing it to be rigid enough for manufacturing and handling while flexible enough to navigate anatomical constraints during insertion.
3Stability of the object's composition
If the anchor is permanently fixed to the inserter rod, then structural stability is improved, but the ability to adjust and reposition the anchor deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The connection between the anchor and inserter rod is designed to be dynamic rather than static. The rod can be inserted through the anchor in a stable manner, but can also be easily removed or adjusted if repositioning is needed, providing both stability during insertion and adjustability during surgery.
Solution Approach 2:
The inserter rod serves as a temporary intermediary that facilitates anchor placement but is not permanently attached. This allows the anchor to be securely delivered to the target location while maintaining the flexibility to adjust or remove the rod if needed during the surgical procedure.
Data Source
AI summary
In one embodiment, the present invention may include a system for securing soft tissue relative to a bone including a tissue anchor having a substantially planar body having a channel and at least one bore hole; an inserter rod having a longitudinal length and adapted to be positioned within the channel of the tissue anchor; and an engagement structure on at least one of the channel or the inserter rod adapted to removeably affix the tissue anchor to the inserter rod.