System and method for securing tissue to bone

Inventors

Heaven, Malcolm • Greelis, John P. • Sirivong, Mikxay • Yurek, Matthew T.

Assignees

Conmed Corp

Abstract

Disclosed herein are methods and devices for securing soft tissue to a rigid material such as bone. A tissue anchoring device is described that comprises an anchor body and a spreader such that tissue may be captured or compressed between outside surfaces on the anchor and inside surfaces of a bone tunnel to secure the tissue within the tunnel. Methods are described that enable use of the bone anchoring device to secure a tissue graft into the tibial and femoral bones during anterior cruciate ligament (“ACL”) reconstruction.

Core Innovation

The disclosed invention relates to an expandable bone anchor and a spreader configured to secure soft tissue to bone. The anchor body includes a plurality of first expandable side portions positioned at a proximal end, where the first expandable side portions expand by bending outward such that each first expandable side portion extends outward to a greater extent at its proximal portion than at its distal portion. The anchor body also includes a plurality of second expandable side portions positioned distally, where the second expandable side portions expand by bending outward such that each second expandable side portion extends outward to a greater extent at its distal portion than at its proximal portion.

A distal tapered anchor tip includes a fixed hole formed by and positioned through the distal portion thereof. The spreader is configured to advance distally into the anchor body, thereby causing the first and second expandable side portions to expand outward. The expandable behavior is described as distal advancing expansion that can produce different outward extension extents in the proximal versus distal expandable side portions.

The disclosure further describes systems and devices for securing soft tissue to bone using the tissue anchoring device. In ACL reconstruction, the soft tissue graft is routed through a tibial bone tunnel and secured, with an anchor inserted into a proximal opening such that a distal end is adjacent a distal tunnel opening, and a distally advancing spreader is advanced to expand anchor side portions to achieve fixation.

Claims Coverage

The independent claim describes an expandable bone anchor with a distal tapered anchor tip including a fixed hole and an internal expansion mechanism activated by a distally advancing spreader. The claim includes four core inventive features.

Across the independent claim coverage, the main inventive aspects are the dual-region expandable side portions that bend outward with different outward-extension extents at proximal versus distal portions, combined with a distal tapered tip having a fixed hole and a spreader advanced distally to trigger outward expansion of both side portion sets.

Stated Advantages

Documented Applications