title: Development of a minimally invasive, injectable, shape memory suture and delivery system.
abstract: Suturing in space-confined surgical settings encountered during microsurgical procedures can be technically complex and time intensive. This paper presents the development of a new injector and new shape-memory alloy clip that can replace conventional suture. Engineering and surgical assessments of the injector and clips were performed. A prototype of the delivery system was tested in simulated surgical settings and compared to conventional suturing techniques for surgical time and wound strength. In various micro-surgical scenarios, the new injectable system proved to be 5 to 20-times more efficient and to have wound strengths over three-times that of conventional suturing. Further, the wounds closed by the shape-memory alloy clips could be forced to open and then recover to a watertight state, unlike conventional sutures which break upon failure. This new injector and shape-memory alloy clips proved to be quicker, stronger, and technically easier than conventional suturing. Future work is underway to test the injectable delivery system and the shape-memory alloy clips using a real-time, in vivo porcine model.
authors.affiliation: Department of Ophthalmology, School of Medicine, University of Colorado Denver, 1675 Aurora Ct, Mail Stop 731, Aurora, CO 80045, USA.
authors.forename: Jeffrey L
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Olson
authors.forename: Robin
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Shandas
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Erlanger
mesh_terms: D006801:Humans; D013508:Ophthalmologic Surgical Procedures / Q000295:instrumentation* / Q000379:methods*; D013536:Suture Techniques / Q000295:instrumentation*; D013537:Sutures