Quickdraw knot pusher: side loading knot pusher

Inventors

Vu, Thien • Isshiki, Ryo

Assignees

Conmed Corp

Abstract

A knot pusher for quickly loading suture without needing to thread a distal end. The knot pusher includes an actuator housing having an actuator moveable between an open position and a closed position and an elongated tube extending from the actuator housing. The knot pusher includes at least two slots, a gate slot extending through the elongated tube and a suture loading slot extending through the elongated tube and traversing the gate slot. A moveable gate cross bar is connected to the actuator such that the gate cross bar moves with the actuator between the open position and the closed position. When the actuator is in the closed position, the gate cross bar extends through at least a portion of the suture loading slot. The knot pusher may also include an ergonomic loop handle that enforces the correct orientation of the knot pusher for use.

Core Innovation

The invention provides a knot pusher, including an actuator housing having an actuator moveable between an open position and a closed position, and a cannulated and elongated tube extending from the actuator housing. A gate slot extends through the elongated tube within a gate slot space that is outside of and adjacent to a cannulated space defined by an inner volume between an inner surface and an outer surface. A suture loading slot extends through the elongated tube and traverses the gate slot so that the gate slot and suture loading slot cooperate at a loading zone.

A gate cross bar is moveable within the gate slot and is connected to the actuator such that the gate cross bar moves with the actuator between the open position and the closed position. When the actuator is in the closed position, the gate cross bar extends through at least a portion of the suture loading slot. In this arrangement, the gate cross bar acts through the suture loading slot to control suture passage during arthroscopic knot tying.

In certain aspects, the loading zone further includes a suture exit slot extending through the elongated tube, positioned relative to the gate slot, and the device includes structural features that support rapid suture loading and correct user orientation. The disclosed structure includes an ergonomic ring-shaped end or loop handle with an aperture configured to enforce correct orientation, and internal channeling and fillets/radii to reduce suture edge interference and fraying within the elongated channel and loading zone.

Claims Coverage

The document includes three independent claims. Across these independent claims, the main coverage centers on an actuator-driven gate cross bar in a cannulated elongated tube, with a gate slot and a suture loading slot that cooperate such that, in the closed position, the gate cross bar extends through the suture loading slot.

Collectively, the independent claims define a knot pusher in which an actuator housing moves a gate cross bar within a gate slot in a cannulated elongated tube, with a suture loading slot traversing the gate slot so that, in the closed position, the gate cross bar extends through at least a portion of the suture loading slot. One independent claim further adds a suture exit slot, and another defines the device with a handle having a ring-shaped end and an actuator at least partially within the actuator housing.

Stated Advantages

Documented Applications