Locking suture anchor assembly

This application is a national stage application of PCT/US2010/056160, filed Nov. 10, 2010 which claims priority to U.S. Patent Application No. 61/259,732 filed on Nov. 10, 2009, the disclosures of which are incorporated herein by reference in their entireties.

1. Field of the Invention

The present disclosure relates to tissue repair, and more specifically, to an anchor for securing tissue to bone.

2. Related Art

Arthroscopic procedures often require soft tissue to be reattached to bone. To achieve this, anchors are placed in the bone and sutures attached to the anchor are passed through the tissue to securely retain the tissue in place. When making a repair of soft tissue to bone, it is advantageous to have as large an area of contact between the bone and tissue as possible. Anchor points spaced from one another in rows result in a repair having a broader area of contact. A procedure, and components for use in such procedure, that securely attaches tissue to bone using a plurality of attachment points over a large area of contact is needed. Such procedure must be able to be done in a quick and efficient manner with a minimum of recovery time for the patient.

In an aspect, the present disclosure relates to an anchor assembly. The anchor assembly includes an anchor including a distal portion and a proximal portion, the anchor defining a cavity and an opening to the cavity; an insertion member disposed within the cavity of the anchor; and a sleeve coupled to the anchor, the sleeve disposed over the proximal portion of the anchor. In an embodiment, the distal portion of the anchor includes barbs. In another embodiment, the anchor includes a through hole. In yet another embodiment, the cavity includes threads. In a further embodiment, the insertion member includes a threaded proximal portion and a non-threaded distal portion. In yet a further embodiment, the insertion member includes a cannulation. In an embodiment, the sleeve includes a threaded proximal portion and a non-threaded distal portion. In another embodiment, the anchor includes protrusions.

In another aspect, the present disclosure relates to an anchor delivery device for tissue repair including a handle; a first knob coupled to the handle; a second knob coupled to the handle; and a shaft coupled to the handle, the shaft including an outer member, an inner member disposed within the outer member, and a driver disposed within the inner member. In an embodiment, a proximal portion of the driver is coupled to the first knob and a proximal portion of the outer member is coupled to the second knob. In another embodiment, the anchor delivery device further includes a sleeve coupled to the outer member, an anchor coupled to the inner member, and an insertion member disposed within a cavity of the anchor, the insertion member coupled to the driver.

Further features, aspects, and advantages of the present disclosure, as well as the structure and operation of various embodiments of the present disclosure, are described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and form a part of the specification, illustrate the embodiments of the present invention and together with the description, serve to explain the principles of the invention. In the drawings:

FIG. 1 shows an exploded view of the anchor assembly of the present disclosure.

FIG. 2 shows a side view of the sleeve of the anchor assembly of FIG. 1 .

FIG. 3 shows a cross-sectional view of the sleeve of FIG. 2 .

FIG. 4 shows a side view of the anchor of the anchor assembly of FIG. 1 .

FIG. 5 shows a cross-sectional view of the anchor of the anchor of FIG. 4 .

FIG. 6 shows a cross-sectional view of the insertion member of the anchor assembly of FIG. 1 .

FIG. 7 shows an isometric view of the anchor delivery device of the present disclosure.

FIG. 8 shows a cross-sectional view of the anchor delivery device of FIG. 7 prior to insertion of the anchor assembly into bone.

FIG. 9 shows an expanded view of the distal end of the shaft of the anchor delivery device of FIG. 8 .

FIG. 10 shows a cross-sectional view of the anchor delivery device of FIG. 7 after insertion of the anchor assembly into bone.

FIG. 11 shows an expanded view of the distal end of the shaft of the anchor delivery device of FIG. 10 .

FIG. 12 shows a side view of the anchor assembly of the present disclosure after the anchor assembly is placed within bone.

FIG. 13 shows a cross-sectional view of the anchor assembly of FIG. 12 .

The embodiments were chosen and described in order to best explain the principles of the invention and its practical application to thereby enable others skilled in the art to best utilize the invention in various embodiments and with various modifications as are suited to the particular use contemplated.

FIGS. 1-6 show the components of the anchor assembly 10 of the present disclosure. The assembly 10 includes an anchor 11 , an insertion member 12 , and a sleeve 13 . The anchor 11 includes a distal portion 11 a , a proximal portion 11 b , a cavity 11 c defined within the anchor 11 and an opening 11 c ′ to the cavity 11 c , a through hole 11 d having two openings 11 d ′, protrusions 11 e located below each opening 11 d ′, and barbs 11 f located on an outer surface 11 a ′ of the distal portion 11 a . The insertion member 12 includes a proximal portion 12 a having threads 12 a ′, a non-threaded distal portion 12 b , and a cannulation 12 c . The sleeve 13 includes a threaded proximal portion 13 a , a non-threaded distal portion 13 b , a cavity 13 c , and an opening 13 d to the cavity. The anchor cavity 11 c includes threads 11 c ″ that engage threads 12 a ′ of the insertion member 12 upon insertion of the member 12 into the cavity 11 c

FIGS. 7-11 show the delivery device 20 for use with the anchor assembly of FIG. 1 . The device 20 includes a handle 21 , a first knob 22 coupled to the handle 21 , a second knob 23 coupled to the handle 21 , and a shaft 24 coupled to the handle 21 . The shaft 24 includes an outer member 24 a , an inner member 24 b disposed within the outer member 24 a , and a driver 25 disposed within the inner member 24 b.

As shown in FIGS. 8-11 , the proximal portion 25 a of the driver 25 is coupled to the first knob 23 and the proximal portion 26 a of the outer member 24 a is coupled to the second knob 22 via a movable member 27 . The movable member 27 includes a distal portion 27 a , a proximal portion 27 b , and a cannulation 27 c . The proximal portion 27 b includes threads 27 b ′ on its outer surface 27 b ″. The movable member 27 is located in a cavity 21 a of the handle 21 . The cavity 21 a includes a distal portion 21 a ′ and a proximal portion 21 a ″. The proximal portion 21 a ″ includes threads 21 b that engage the threads 27 b ′ on the proximal portion outer surface 27 b ″. As will be explained further below, due to the threaded engagement of the movable member 27 with the cavity proximal portion 21 a ″, rotation of the knob 22 causes the outer member 24 a to move axially along the length of the shaft 24 . Rotation of the knob 22 is discontinued when an end 27 a ′ of the movable member distal portion 27 a engages an end 21 c of the cavity distal portion 21 a ′, thereby preventing over-insertion of the sleeve 13 into the bone.

A proximal portion 25 a of the driver 25 includes threads 25 a ′ that engage threads 29 on an inner surface 24 b ′ of the inner member 24 b . Threaded engagement of the driver 25 and inner member 24 b allow for axial movement of the driver 25 along the shaft 24 via rotation of the knob 23 . Rotation of the knob 23 is discontinued when a depth stop 25 b engages an end 24 b ″ of the inner member 24 b , thereby preventing over-insertion of the insertion member 12 into the anchor 11 , as will be further explained below.

During tissue repair, suture is attached to a soft tissue, a hole is created in bone, ends of the suture are placed through the through hole 11 d of the anchor 11 , the anchor 11 is placed within the bone hole via axial advancement of the delivery device 20 , knob 23 is rotated to move the insertion member 12 axially and engage and fixate the suture to the anchor 11 , and knob 22 is then rotated to move the sleeve 13 axially and place the distal end 13 b of the sleeve 13 over the proximal end 11 b of the anchor 11 and further lock the suture between the sleeve 13 and the bone. FIGS. 12 and 13 show the assembled anchor assembly 10 without the suture. The suture may be tensioned prior to advancing the insertion member 12 to engage the suture. Optionally, a suture anchor may be placed within bone, ends of the suture placed through the soft tissue, and the ends then placed through the through hole 11 d of the anchor 11 . Repair would continue as described above. A similar type of repair is shown and described in U.S. Patent Application Publication Nos. 20090112270, 20100016869, and 20100016902, the disclosures of which are incorporated herein by reference in their entireties.

The components of the anchor assembly are made from a polymer material and via an injection molding process. However, other materials and processes may be used. The handle and knobs of the delivery device are manufactured from a polymer material and via an injection molding process. The handle and knobs are coupled via an interference fit. However, other materials, processes of making, and methods of coupling may be used. The components of the shaft are made from a metal material via an extrusion or drawings process. The components of the shaft are coupled to the handle and knobs via a threaded fit or an interference fit. However, other materials, processes of making, and methods of coupling may be used.

As various modifications could be made in the constructions and methods herein described and illustrated without departing from the scope of the invention, it is intended that all matter contained in the foregoing description or shown in the accompanying drawings shall be interpreted as illustrative rather than limiting. Thus, the breadth and scope of the present invention should not be limited by any of the above-described exemplary embodiments, but should be defined only in accordance with the following claims appended hereto and their equivalents.