Patent ID: 11957332
Assignee: EDWARDS LIFESCIENCES CORPORATION
Field: Medical technology (Instruments)
Classification: CPC A | IPC A

Claim 0:
1. A device for securing one or more lines of suture, comprising:
a generally disc-shaped body defining a plurality of axially spaced-apart layers, each axially spaced-apart layer of the plurality of axially spaced-apart layers comprising:
an outer axial surface;
an inner axial surface, wherein the inner axial surfaces of the plurality of axially spaced-apart layers define a hollow interior portion of the generally disc-shaped body;
wherein at least one axially spaced-apart layer of the plurality of axially spaced-apart layers comprises:
at least a first tab formed in an axial surface of the at least one axially spaced-apart layer, the axial surface being defined by the outer axial surface and the inner axial surface of the at least one axially spaced-apart layer, wherein the at least a first tab is defined by:
a first slot extending circumferentially about a portion of a first radial end of the axial surface of the at least one axially spaced-apart layer; and
a second slot extending circumferentially about a portion of a second radial end of the axial surface of the at least one axially spaced-apart layer, the second radial end being an opposing end to the first radial end; and
a slit extending through the axial surface of the at least one axially spaced-apart layer between the first slot and the second slot, the slit providing a suture opening providing access to the hollow interior portion, wherein the at least a first tab is elastically deformable from a closed configuration to an open configuration such that the at least a first tab resumes the closed configuration once a biasing force is removed from the at least a first tab;
wherein one or more lines of suture can be passed through the slit when the at least a first tab is in the open configuration and the one or more lines of suture are restricted by a surface of the at least a first tab from sliding through the suture opening in at least one longitudinal direction of the one or more lines of suture when the at least a first tab is in the closed configuration.