Trocar Suture Anchor Deployment with Depth Control
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Current laparoscopic closure devices face challenges in efficiently closing puncture wounds, particularly in obese patients, due to limited suture deployment distance and difficulty in determining needle penetration depth, leading to inadequate closure and increased procedural time.
Innovation Solution
A system comprising a cannula assembly with a needle actuation mechanism and suture anchors, which includes a cannula shaft, a port element, and an obturator assembly for precise deployment and indication of suture anchor placement, allowing for improved closure of puncture sites with enhanced depth control and distance management.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Length of moving object
If a conventional laparoscopic closure device is used, then the puncture site can be closed, but the suture deployment distance is limited and cannot sufficiently approximate the peritoneum and fascia
Solution Approach 1:
The needle is made longitudinally movable with respect to the cannula shaft, allowing dynamic adjustment of needle extension distance. This enables the suture to be deployed at varying distances from the puncture site, overcoming the fixed limited deployment distance of conventional devices and allowing sufficient approximation of peritoneum and fascia for adequate closure.
2Ease of operation
If the obturator and cannula are removed from the puncture site to use the closure device, then the puncture site is lost, but this causes temporary loss of access and difficulty in reinsertion
Solution Approach 1:
The cannula assembly is designed to serve multiple functions: it acts as both the access device during surgery and the deployment mechanism for the closure device. The needle can be extended and retracted within the cannula, allowing suture deployment without removing the cannula from the puncture site, thus maintaining continuous access and eliminating time loss.
3Measurement precision
If the penetration depth of suturing needles is not determined, then the procedure is simpler, but the suture may partially or fully open due to inadequate penetration
Solution Approach 1:
The device incorporates visual feedback mechanisms including depth markers on the cannula shaft and needle position indicators that allow the surgeon to determine the extent of needle penetration into the peritoneum and fascia. This feedback ensures adequate penetration depth without requiring complex additional measurement devices, maintaining surgical simplicity while ensuring closure reliability.
Data Source
AI summary
Provided are systems and methods for suture anchor deployment. A system according to the present invention is a trocar system that includes a cannula assembly and an obturator assembly, the cannula assembly providing a needle assembly and the obturator assembly providing a needle actuation mechanism. The obturator assembly may be at least partially inserted into the cannula assembly and arranged to operatively couple the needle actuation mechanism to the needle assembly. The needle assembly includes at least one needle, each needle having disposed near its distal tip a suture anchor. A method according to the present invention includes steps for deploying and/or depositing at least one suture anchor in or through an organ of the human body.