Suture anchor with microthreads and suture anchor driver with needle attachment
A suture anchor is described. The suture anchor includes an elongate anchor body having a proximal end and a distal end, at least one suture secured within the anchor body, at least one major thread, and at least two microthreads occupying the space between each major thread. An anchor driver is also described. The anchor driver is capable of accepting various attachments such that an operator can change the functionality of the driver based on the type of attachment in use, such as a needle attachment. A method of attaching soft tissue to bone in a subject is also described. The method includes the steps of securing a suture anchor into bone with the anchor driver, joining a needle attachment with the anchor driver, passing at least one suture through soft tissue using the needle attachment, and tying the at least one suture against the soft tissue to secure the soft tissue to the bone.
1 . A suture anchor, comprising:
an elongate anchor body having a proximal end, a distal end and a length therebetween;
at least one major thread covering the length of the anchor body, wherein the at least one major thread has a major diameter between 2 mm and 10 mm and a thread pitch between 0.1 mm and 5 mm; and
at least two minor threads covering the length of the anchor body,
wherein the at least two minor threads occupy a space between the at least one major thread, wherein the at least two minor threads have major diameters between 1 mm and 9 mm and thread pitches between 0.1 mm and 5 mm, and wherein the major diameters of the at least two minor threads are smaller than the major diameters of the at least one major thread;
wherein the at least one major thread has a first angular profile comprising a proximal major thread face and a distal major thread face, wherein the proximal major thread face extends substantially planar at a first angle from a root of the anchor with a longitudinal axis of the elongated body, wherein the distal major thread face extends substantially planar from a root of the anchor and makes a second angle less than 90 degree with the longitudinal axis, and wherein the first angle is closer to perpendicular with the longitudinal axis than the second angle;
wherein each of the at least two minor threads have a second angular profile comprising a proximal minor thread face and a distal minor thread face, wherein the proximal minor thread faces makes a non-perpendicular angle less than 90 degrees with the longitudinal axis and the distal minor thread faces makes a non-perpendicular angle less than 90 degrees with the longitudinal axis; and
wherein the first and second angular profiles are different along the length, and wherein the at least two minor threads extend to their major diameter in the second angular profile distal from where the at least one major thread extends to its major diameter in the first angular profile.
2 . The suture anchor of claim 1 , further comprising at least one suture secured to the anchor body.
3 . The suture anchor of claim 1 , wherein the proximal end of the anchor body comprises a channel for engagement with an installation tool.
4 . The suture anchor of claim 3 , wherein at least one suture is secured within the channel of the anchor body.
5 . The suture anchor of claim 3 , wherein the channel is surrounded by the major thread and the at least two minor threads along an entire length of the channel.
6 . The suture anchor of claim 5 , wherein the channel terminates proximally at a proximal face of the elongate body, and wherein the major thread terminates proximally at the proximal face.
7 . The suture anchor claim 6 , wherein a root diameter of the elongate anchor body is constant from the proximal face to a distal portion of the elongate body.
8 . The suture anchor claim 7 , wherein the major thread diameter is constant along the channel and extending to a distal portion of the elongate body.
9 . The suture anchor of claim 1 , wherein the major diameter of the at least one major thread decreases along at least a portion of the anchor body length in a direction towards a distal tip.
10 . The suture anchor of claim 1 , wherein the suture anchor further comprises an aperture positioned along the length of the elongate anchor body and passes laterally through the elongate anchor body and wherein the aperture comprises a rod that extends across the aperture and is configured to secure a length of suture looped around the rod.
11 . The suture anchor of claim 1 , wherein each adjacent thread of the at least one major thread and at least two minor threads are positioned to abut each other.
12 . A suture anchor, comprising:
an elongate anchor body having a proximal end, a distal end and a length therebetween;
at least one major thread having a major diameter, the at least one major thread covering the length of the anchor body; and
at least one minor thread having a major diameter smaller than the major diameter of the at least one major thread, the at least one minor thread covering the length of the anchor body,
wherein the at least one major thread has a first angular profile comprising a proximal major thread face and a distal major thread face, wherein the proximal major thread face extends substantially planar at a first angle from a root of the anchor with a longitudinal axis of the elongated body, wherein the distal major thread face extends substantially planar from a root of the anchor and makes a second angle less than 90 degree with the longitudinal axis, and wherein the first angle is closer to perpendicular with the longitudinal axis than the second angle,
wherein the major diameter of the at least one major thread decreases along at least a portion of its length in a direction towards a distal tip, while the major diameter of the at least one minor thread remains constant along the portion of its length;
wherein the at least one minor thread has a second angular profile comprising a proximal minor thread face and a distal minor thread face, wherein the proximal minor thread faces make a non-perpendicular angle less than 90 degrees with the longitudinal axis and the distal minor thread faces make a non-perpendicular angle less than 90 degrees with the longitudinal axis; and
wherein the first and second angular profiles are different along the length, and wherein the at least one minor thread extend to its major diameter in the second angular profile distal from where the at least one major thread extends to its major diameter in the first angular profile.
13 . The suture anchor of claim 12 , further comprising at least one suture secured to the anchor body.
14 . The suture anchor of claim 12 , wherein the proximal end of the anchor body comprises a channel for engagement with an installation tool.
15 . The suture anchor of claim 14 , wherein at least one suture is secured within the channel of the anchor body.
16 . The suture anchor of claim 14 , wherein the channel is surrounded by the major thread and the at least two minor threads along an entire length of the channel.
17 . The suture anchor of claim 16 , wherein the channel terminates proximally at a proximal face of the elongate body, and wherein the major thread terminates proximally at the proximal face.
18 . The suture anchor claim 17 , wherein a root diameter of the elongate anchor body is constant from the proximal face to a distal portion of the elongate body.
19 . The suture anchor claim 18 , wherein the major thread diameter is constant along the channel and extending to a distal portion of the elongate body.
20 . The suture anchor of claim 12 , wherein the major diameter of the at least one major thread decreases along at least a portion of the anchor body length in a direction towards a distal tip.
21 . The suture anchor of claim 12 , wherein the suture anchor further comprises an aperture positioned along the length of the elongate anchor body and passes laterally through the elongate anchor body and wherein the aperture comprises a rod that extends across the aperture and is configured to secure a length of suture looped around the rod.
22 . The suture anchor of claim 12 , wherein each adjacent thread of the at least one major thread and at least two minor threads are positioned to abut each other.
23 . The suture anchor of claim 12 , wherein the at least one minor thread occupies the space between the at least one major thread such that there is no surface between adjacent threads along a longitudinal axis of the length of the anchor body.