A Tissue Anchor

• US 20190314012A1
• Filed: 10/16/2017
• Published: 10/17/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 10/14/2016
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: University College Dublin
• Original Assignee: University College Dublin
• Inventors: Bertollo, Nicky, Morris, Seamus, O'Cearbhaill, Eoin
• Granted Patent: US 11,298,124 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 17/0466 Suture bridges
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 17/064 Surgical staples, i.e. penetrating the tissue
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 17/0643 with separate closing member, e.g. for interlocking with staple
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 17/08 Wound clamps or clips, i.e. not or only partly penetrating the tissue suture bridges A61B17/0466; Devices for bringing together the edges of a wound
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2017/00004 (bio)absorbable, (bio)resorbable or resorptive
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2017/00022 Sensing or detecting at the treatment site
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2017/0496 for tensioning sutures
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2017/0641 having at least three legs as part of one single body
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2017/0645 being elastically deformed for insertion
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2017/081 Tissue approximator A61B2017/1103, A61B17/8866 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2017/086 having flexible threads, filaments, laces or wires, e.g. parallel threads, extending laterally from a strip, e.g. for tying to opposing threads extending from a similar strip
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2505/05 Surgical care
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/14532 for measuring glucose, e.g. by tissue impedance measurement
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/318 Heart-related electrical modalities, e.g. electrocardiography [ECG]
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/389 Electromyography [EMG]
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/6839 Anchoring means, e.g. barbs
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 90/06 Measuring instruments not otherwise provided for
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 2037/0023 Drug applicators using microneedles
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 2037/0046 Solid microneedles
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 37/0015 by using microneedles
• CPC Class Codes: A61N 1/0456 : Specially adapted for transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation [TENS]

Abstract

The present invention provides a tissue anchor and a system and method employing same, the anchors including a body having a first section and a second section reversibly engagable with one another, each section including a plurality of barbs in the form of microneedles projecting from the underside therefore, the barbs on one section being inclined towards barbs on the other section, such that tissue may be captured and deformed between the barbs through displacement of the first section relative to the second section in order to achieve robust retention of the tissue anchor at a deployment site.

Claims

1. A tissue anchor comprising a body having a first section and a second section displaceable in a first direction relative to one another to translate the tissue anchor between an undeployed state and a deployed state;

at least one protrusion projecting from the first section and at least one protrusion projecting from the second section, at least one protrusion on at least one section being inclined towards the at least one protrusion on the other section; and

wherein the at least one protrusion on the first section and the second section overlap in a second direction substantially perpendicular to the first direction when the anchor is in the undeployed and/or deployed state.

2. A tissue anchor according to claim 1 in which the body is configured such that the at least one protrusion on the first section and the second section overlap in the second direction when the body is in the deployed state.

3. A tissue anchor according to claim 1 in which each protrusion comprises a root and a tip, each protrusion being aligned from the root to the tip in a direction substantially parallel to the first direction.

4. A tissue anchor according to claim 1 in which each protrusion comprises a barb.

5. A tissue anchor according to claim 1 in which the first section and the second section each comprise a plurality of protrusions.

6. A tissue anchor according to claim 5 in which the first section and the second section comprise equal numbers of protrusions.

7. A tissue anchor according to claim 5 in which the protrusions on both the first and second sections are arranged in a rectangular array.

8. A tissue anchor according to claim 5 in which the protrusions on the first and the second section are arranged in concentric circular arrays.

9. A tissue anchor according to claim 1 in which the protrusions comprise micro features.

10. A tissue anchor according to claim 1 in which the first section and the second section each define a tissue contacting surface from which the respective at least one protrusion extends.

11. A tissue anchor according to claim 10 in which the tissue contacting surface of the first section and/or the second section comprises a recess located at or adjacent a root of the respective at least one protrusion.

12. A tissue anchor according to claim 1 in which the first section comprises a first set of protrusions and a second set of protrusions spaced from the first set, the second section being displaceable relative to the first section along a path between the first and second set of protrusion of the first section.

13. A tissue anchor according to claim 1 in which one or more of the protrusions on the first section extend obliquely with respect to the first direction.

14. A tissue anchor according to claim 1 comprising a lock operable to fix the first and second sections relative to one another.

15. A tissue anchor according to claim 1 in which the first section defines a channel adapted to at least partially receive the second section therein.

16. A tissue anchor according to claim 15 in which the channel is open at one end.

20. A tissue anchor according to claim 1 comprising at least one micro-needle.

21. A tissue anchor according to claim 20 in which at least one of the protrusions comprises a micro-needle.

31. A wound closure system comprising an array of the tissue anchors according to claim 1;

and at least one tensile member tethered between at least two of the tissue anchors.

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35. A method of securing a tissue anchor to tissue, the method comprising the steps of inserting at least one protrusion projecting from a first section of a body of the anchor and at least one protrusion projecting from a second section of the body into the tissue;

displacing in a first direction the first section relative to the second section to translate the tissue anchor from an undeployed state to u deployed state, wherein the at least one protrusion on the first section and the second section overlap in a second direction substantially perpendicular to the first direction when the body is in the undeployed and/or deployed state;

such as to effect localised deformation of the tissue surrounding the protrusions when the body is in the deployed state.

38. A method according to claim 35 in which the step of displacing the first section relative to the second section is effected in two stages, a first stage in which the relative displacement primarily effects insertion of the protrusions into the tissue, and a second stage which primarily effects the localised deformation of the tissue surrounding the protrusions.

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