Patent Application
20210361277
This invention relates to a suture anchor for securing soft tissue to bone, and an associated method for securing soft tissue to bone.
The following discussion of the background art is intended to facilitate an understanding of the present invention only. The discussion is not an acknowledgement or admission that any of the material referred to is or was part of the common general knowledge as at the priority date of the application.
In the field of medicine, it is an increasingly common problem for tendons and other soft, connective tissues to tear or to detach from associated bone. One such type of tear or detachment is a “rotator cuff” tear in the shoulder, wherein the supraspinatus tendon separates from the humerus, causing pain and loss of ability to elevate and externally rotate the arm. Complete separation can occur if the shoulder is subjected to gross trauma, but typically, the tear begins as a small lesion, especially in older patients. Similarly, other injuries can occur in various parts of the body.
When soft tissue tears away from bone, reattachment becomes necessary. Various devices, including sutures alone, screws, staples, wedges, and plugs have been used in the prior art to secure soft tissue to bone.
Suture anchors are generally comprised of the following basic parts: an anchor, an eyelet and a suture. The anchor is the portion that can be inserted into the bone. The anchor may conventionally be a screw or plug mechanism and made of metal or biodegradable material that can dissolve in the body over time. The eyelet is a hole or a loop in the anchor through which the suture passes thereby linking the anchor to the suture. Conventional suture anchors secure a suture by securing the suture by an internal screw plug, capturing the suture via friction between a bone tunnel and an implant or capturing the suture through one-way slip knots. Alternatively, other conventional suture anchors feature eyelets placed so that the suture is secured by means of a knot within the anchor itself.
Problems can arise if the anchor detaches from bone, or if a knot or eyelet arrangements for securing the suture fails, thereby allowing the suture to become detached from the anchor.
The current invention was conceived with these shortcomings in mind and proposes to ameliorate the shortcomings in the art by providing a suture anchor with improved attachment performance for accommodating one or more suture threads, which is simple in structure and easy and inexpensive to manufacture and use.
According to a first aspect of the invention there is provided a suture anchor for securing soft tissue to bone, said suture anchor comprising:
a strip having first and second end portions and a central portion therebetween, each end portion defining an inner and an outer aperture, said central portion defining a central aperture and transverse lines of weakness longitudinally on either side of said central aperture;
wherein a suture is operatively threadable through the strip such that the end portions fold onto each other via the lines of weakness to complementarily define a clasp portion with the central portion defining an expansion portion; and wherein, in use, tensioning of said suture urges the expansion portion into an expanded position and clasps said suture to the clasp portion.
Typically, the suture is sequentially threaded through the strip as follows:
Typically, the strip is manufactured from medical-grade polymer material.
In an embodiment, the clasp portion defines a rough surface texture to facilitate in operatively clasping the suture.
Typically, the strip includes further lines of weakness to facilitate in the expansion portion urging into the expanded position.
In an embodiment, the strip defines an additional line of weakness transversely across the central aperture.
In an embodiment, the strip defines two additional lines of weakness to separate the clasp portion from the expansion portion.
In an embodiment, the suture anchor includes a locking suture operatively threaded through the strip and having a detent configured to lock the expanded portion into the expanded position.
In an embodiment, the detent of the locking suture comprises a bulge sized, shaped and dimensioned for interference fit through an aperture of the strip.
In an embodiment, the strip includes an end portion guide configured to guide the end portions once folded onto each other, the end portion guide configured to allow sliding of such end portions longitudinally relative to each other.
In an embodiment, the strip includes a locking mechanism configured to lock the end portions together once folded onto each other.
In an embodiment, the locking mechanism is configured to complementarily engage the end portions to facilitate the clasp portion clasping the suture.
In an embodiment, the locking mechanism includes a cannulated screw configured to facilitate in urging and/securing the expansion portion into the expanded position.
In an embodiment, the first and/or second end portions define one or more opening leading into the inner and/or outer apertures for a suture to operatively pass through, said opening configured to allow suture entry into said inner and/or outer aperture, while substantially impeding suture exit therefrom.
According to a second aspect of the invention there is provided a method for securing soft tissue to bone, said method comprising the steps of:
providing a suture anchor comprising a strip having first and second end portions and a central portion therebetween, each end portion defining an inner and an outer aperture, said central portion defining a central aperture and transverse lines of weakness longitudinally on either side of said central aperture;
threading a suture through the strip such that the end portions fold onto each other via the lines of weakness to complementarily define a clasp portion with the central portion defining an expansion portion, said suture attachable to soft tissue;
inserting the folded strip clasp portion-first into a bone channel; and
tensioning the suture to urge the expansion portion into an expanded position to secure said strip inside said bone channel and to clasp said suture to the clasp portion.
Typically, the method includes the step of attaching the suture to soft tissue to be secured proximate the bone channel.
Typically, the step of threading the suture includes sequentially threading the suture:
The description will be made with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:
Further features of the present invention are more fully described in the following description of several non-limiting embodiments thereof. This description is included solely for the purposes of exemplifying the present invention to the skilled addressee. It should not be understood as a restriction on the broad summary, disclosure or description of the invention as set out above. In the figures, incorporated to illustrate features of the example embodiment or embodiments, like reference numerals are used to identify like parts throughout.
Referring now to the accompanying drawings, there is shown one embodiment of a suture anchor 10 for securing soft tissue 12 to bone 6. The suture anchor 10 generally comprises an elongate strip 14 having first and second end portions 16 and 18 and a central portion 20 therebetween. The strip 14 is typically manufactured from medical-grade polymer material, but other materials are also possible and within the scope of the present invention.
Each end portion 16 and 18 defines an inner and an outer aperture 22 and 24, respectively, as shown. The central portion 20 defines a central aperture 21 and transverse lines of weakness 26 longitudinally on either side of the central aperture 21, as shown. It is to be appreciated that the lines of weakness 26 generally runs transverse across a length of the strip 14 and is longitudinally, i.e. spaced along a length of the strip 14, on either side of the central aperture 21, as shown.
In an embodiment, shown in
In use, a suture 28 is operatively threadable through the strip 14 such that the end portions 16 and 18 fold onto each other, as shown, via the lines of weakness 26 to complementarily define a clasp portion 30, with the central portion 20 defining an expansion portion 32. In this manner, when in use, tensioning of the suture 28 generally urges the expansion portion 32 into an expanded position and clasps said suture 28 to the clasp portion 30.
In one example, as shown more clearly in
In the present example, the suture 28 is sequentially threaded through the strip 14 as follows:
In one embodiment, the clasp portion 30 may include a rough surface texture to facilitate in operatively clasping the suture 28, or the like.
The skilled addressee will appreciate that the strip 14 may include further lines of weakness 36 to facilitate in the expansion portion 32 being urged into the expanded position. In the present embodiment, the strip 14 defines an additional line of weakness 36 transversely across the central aperture 21, as shown, as well as two additional lines of weakness 36 which generally separates the clasp portion 30 from the expansion portion 32.
With reference now to
In the embodiment of
Referring to the embodiment shown in
In a further embodiment, exemplified in
It is to be appreciated that further configurations of the suture anchor 10 are possible and within the scope of the present invention. For example, the embodiment of
Similarly, a yet further configuration is shown in
The invention further provides for an associated method for securing soft tissue 12 to bone 6. The method generally comprises the steps of providing the suture anchor 10 as described above, threading the suture 28 through the strip 14 such that the end portions 16 and 18 fold onto each other via the lines of weakness 26 to complementarily define the clasp portion 30 and the expansion portion 32, as described, inserting the folded strip 14 clasp portion-first into a bone channel 8, and tensioning the suture 28 to urge the expansion portion 32 into an expanded position to secure the strip 14 inside the bone channel 8 whilst clasping the suture 28 to the clasp portion 30.
Typically, the method includes the step of attaching the suture 28 to the soft tissue 12 to be secured proximate the bone channel 8.
Applicant believes is particularly advantageous that the present invention provides for a simple and elegant suture anchor useable for attaching soft tissue 12 to bone.
Optional embodiments of the present invention may also be said to broadly consist in the parts, elements and features referred to or indicated herein, individually or collectively, in any or all combinations of two or more of the parts, elements or features, and wherein specific integers are mentioned herein which have known equivalents in the art to which the invention relates, such known equivalents are deemed to be incorporated herein as if individually set forth. In the example embodiments, well-known processes, well-known device structures, and well-known technologies are not described in detail, as such will be readily understood by the skilled addressee.
The use of the terms “a”, “an”, “said”, “the”, and/or similar referents in the context of describing various embodiments (especially in the context of the claimed subject matter) are to be construed to cover both the singular and the plural, unless otherwise indicated herein or clearly contradicted by context. The terms “comprising,” “having,” “including,” and “containing” are to be construed as open-ended terms (i.e., meaning “including, but not limited to,”) unless otherwise noted. As used herein, the term “and/or” includes any and all combinations of one or more of the associated listed items. No language in the specification should be construed as indicating any non-claimed subject matter as essential to the practice of the claimed subject matter.
Spatially relative terms, such as “inner,” “outer,” “beneath,” “below,” “lower,” “above,” “upper,” and the like, may be used herein for ease of description to describe one element or feature's relationship to another element(s) or feature(s) as illustrated in the figures. Spatially relative terms may be intended to encompass different orientations of the device in use or operation in addition to the orientation depicted in the figures. For example, if the device in the figures is turned over, elements described as “below” or “beneath” other elements or features would then be oriented “above” the other elements or features. Thus, the example term “below” can encompass both an orientation of above and below. The device may be otherwise oriented (rotated 90 degrees or at other orientations) and the spatially relative descriptors used herein interpreted accordingly.
It is to be appreciated that reference to “one example” or “an example” of the invention, or similar exemplary language (e.g., “such as”) herein, is not made in an exclusive sense. Various substantially and specifically practical and useful exemplary embodiments of the claimed subject matter are described herein, textually and/or graphically, for carrying out the claimed subject matter.
Accordingly, one example may exemplify certain aspects of the invention, whilst other aspects are exemplified in a different example. These examples are intended to assist the skilled person in performing the invention and are not intended to limit the overall scope of the invention in any way unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. Variations (e.g. modifications and/or enhancements) of one or more embodiments described herein might become apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art upon reading this application. The inventor(s) expects skilled artisans to employ such variations as appropriate, and the inventor(s) intends for the claimed subject matter to be practiced other than as specifically described herein.
Any method steps, processes, and operations described herein are not to be construed as necessarily requiring their performance in the particular order discussed or illustrated, unless specifically identified as an order of performance. It is also to be understood that additional or alternative steps may be employed.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2018901728 | May 2018 | AU | national |
| Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| PCT/AU2019/050466 | 5/16/2019 | WO | 00 |
