Patent Abstract:
The present disclosure relates to an anchor assembly. The anchor assembly includes an anchor including a distal portion and a proximal portion, the anchor defining a cavity and an opening to the cavity; an insertion member disposed within the cavity of the anchor; and a sleeve coupled to the anchor, the sleeve disposed over the proximal portion of the anchor. A delivery device is also disclosed.

Full Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     This application is a national stage application of PCT/US2010/056160, filed Nov. 10, 2010 which claims priority to U.S. Patent Application No. 61/259,732 filed on Nov. 10, 2009, the disclosures of which are incorporated herein by reference in their entireties. 
    
    
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     The present disclosure relates to tissue repair, and more specifically, to an anchor for securing tissue to bone. 
     2. Related Art 
     Arthroscopic procedures often require soft tissue to be reattached to bone. To achieve this, anchors are placed in the bone and sutures attached to the anchor are passed through the tissue to securely retain the tissue in place. When making a repair of soft tissue to bone, it is advantageous to have as large an area of contact between the bone and tissue as possible. Anchor points spaced from one another in rows result in a repair having a broader area of contact. A procedure, and components for use in such procedure, that securely attaches tissue to bone using a plurality of attachment points over a large area of contact is needed. Such procedure must be able to be done in a quick and efficient manner with a minimum of recovery time for the patient. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     In an aspect, the present disclosure relates to an anchor assembly. The anchor assembly includes an anchor including a distal portion and a proximal portion, the anchor defining a cavity and an opening to the cavity; an insertion member disposed within the cavity of the anchor; and a sleeve coupled to the anchor, the sleeve disposed over the proximal portion of the anchor. In an embodiment, the distal portion of the anchor includes barbs. In another embodiment, the anchor includes a through hole. In yet another embodiment, the cavity includes threads. In a further embodiment, the insertion member includes a threaded proximal portion and a non-threaded distal portion. In yet a further embodiment, the insertion member includes a cannulation. In an embodiment, the sleeve includes a threaded proximal portion and a non-threaded distal portion. In another embodiment, the anchor includes protrusions. 
     In another aspect, the present disclosure relates to an anchor delivery device for tissue repair including a handle; a first knob coupled to the handle; a second knob coupled to the handle; and a shaft coupled to the handle, the shaft including an outer member, an inner member disposed within the outer member, and a driver disposed within the inner member. In an embodiment, a proximal portion of the driver is coupled to the first knob and a proximal portion of the outer member is coupled to the second knob. In another embodiment, the anchor delivery device further includes a sleeve coupled to the outer member, an anchor coupled to the inner member, and an insertion member disposed within a cavity of the anchor, the insertion member coupled to the driver. 
     Further features, aspects, and advantages of the present disclosure, as well as the structure and operation of various embodiments of the present disclosure, are described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and form a part of the specification, illustrate the embodiments of the present invention and together with the description, serve to explain the principles of the invention. In the drawings: 
         FIG. 1  shows an exploded view of the anchor assembly of the present disclosure. 
         FIG. 2  shows a side view of the sleeve of the anchor assembly of  FIG. 1 . 
         FIG. 3  shows a cross-sectional view of the sleeve of  FIG. 2 . 
         FIG. 4  shows a side view of the anchor of the anchor assembly of  FIG. 1 . 
         FIG. 5  shows a cross-sectional view of the anchor of the anchor of  FIG. 4 . 
         FIG. 6  shows a cross-sectional view of the insertion member of the anchor assembly of  FIG. 1 . 
         FIG. 7  shows an isometric view of the anchor delivery device of the present disclosure. 
         FIG. 8  shows a cross-sectional view of the anchor delivery device of  FIG. 7  prior to insertion of the anchor assembly into bone. 
         FIG. 9  shows an expanded view of the distal end of the shaft of the anchor delivery device of  FIG. 8 . 
         FIG. 10  shows a cross-sectional view of the anchor delivery device of  FIG. 7  after insertion of the anchor assembly into bone. 
         FIG. 11  shows an expanded view of the distal end of the shaft of the anchor delivery device of  FIG. 10 . 
         FIG. 12  shows a side view of the anchor assembly of the present disclosure after the anchor assembly is placed within bone. 
         FIG. 13  shows a cross-sectional view of the anchor assembly of  FIG. 12 . 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS 
     The embodiments were chosen and described in order to best explain the principles of the invention and its practical application to thereby enable others skilled in the art to best utilize the invention in various embodiments and with various modifications as are suited to the particular use contemplated. 
       FIGS. 1-6  show the components of the anchor assembly  10  of the present disclosure. The assembly  10  includes an anchor  11 , an insertion member  12 , and a sleeve  13 . The anchor  11  includes a distal portion  11   a , a proximal portion  11   b , a cavity  11   c  defined within the anchor  11  and an opening  11   c ′ to the cavity  11   c , a through hole  11   d  having two openings  11   d ′, protrusions  11   e  located below each opening  11   d ′, and barbs  11   f  located on an outer surface  11   a ′ of the distal portion  11   a . The insertion member  12  includes a proximal portion  12   a  having threads  12   a ′, a non-threaded distal portion  12   b , and a cannulation  12   c . The sleeve  13  includes a threaded proximal portion  13   a , a non-threaded distal portion  13   b , a cavity  13   c , and an opening  13   d  to the cavity. The anchor cavity  11   c  includes threads  11   c ″ that engage threads  12   a ′ of the insertion member  12  upon insertion of the member  12  into the cavity  11   c    
       FIGS. 7-11  show the delivery device  20  for use with the anchor assembly of  FIG. 1 . The device  20  includes a handle  21 , a first knob  22  coupled to the handle  21 , a second knob  23  coupled to the handle  21 , and a shaft  24  coupled to the handle  21 . The shaft  24  includes an outer member  24   a , an inner member  24   b  disposed within the outer member  24   a , and a driver  25  disposed within the inner member  24   b.    
     As shown in  FIGS. 8-11 , the proximal portion  25   a  of the driver  25  is coupled to the first knob  23  and the proximal portion  26   a  of the outer member  24   a  is coupled to the second knob  22  via a movable member  27 . The movable member  27  includes a distal portion  27   a , a proximal portion  27   b , and a cannulation  27   c . The proximal portion  27   b  includes threads  27   b ′ on its outer surface  27   b ″. The movable member  27  is located in a cavity  21   a  of the handle  21 . The cavity  21   a  includes a distal portion  21   a ′ and a proximal portion  21   a ″. The proximal portion  21   a ″ includes threads  21   b  that engage the threads  27   b ′ on the proximal portion outer surface  27   b ″. As will be explained further below, due to the threaded engagement of the movable member  27  with the cavity proximal portion  21   a ″, rotation of the knob  22  causes the outer member  24   a  to move axially along the length of the shaft  24 . Rotation of the knob  22  is discontinued when an end  27   a ′ of the movable member distal portion  27   a  engages an end  21   c  of the cavity distal portion  21   a ′, thereby preventing over-insertion of the sleeve  13  into the bone. 
     A proximal portion  25   a  of the driver  25  includes threads  25   a ′ that engage threads  29  on an inner surface  24   b ′ of the inner member  24   b . Threaded engagement of the driver  25  and inner member  24   b  allow for axial movement of the driver  25  along the shaft  24  via rotation of the knob  23 . Rotation of the knob  23  is discontinued when a depth stop  25   b  engages an end  24   b ″ of the inner member  24   b , thereby preventing over-insertion of the insertion member  12  into the anchor  11 , as will be further explained below. 
     During tissue repair, suture is attached to a soft tissue, a hole is created in bone, ends of the suture are placed through the through hole  11   d  of the anchor  11 , the anchor  11  is placed within the bone hole via axial advancement of the delivery device  20 , knob  23  is rotated to move the insertion member  12  axially and engage and fixate the suture to the anchor  11 , and knob  22  is then rotated to move the sleeve  13  axially and place the distal end  13   b  of the sleeve  13  over the proximal end  11   b  of the anchor  11  and further lock the suture between the sleeve  13  and the bone.  FIGS. 12 and 13  show the assembled anchor assembly  10  without the suture. The suture may be tensioned prior to advancing the insertion member  12  to engage the suture. Optionally, a suture anchor may be placed within bone, ends of the suture placed through the soft tissue, and the ends then placed through the through hole  11   d  of the anchor  11 . Repair would continue as described above. A similar type of repair is shown and described in U.S. Patent Application Publication Nos. 20090112270, 20100016869, and 20100016902, the disclosures of which are incorporated herein by reference in their entireties. 
     The components of the anchor assembly are made from a polymer material and via an injection molding process. However, other materials and processes may be used. The handle and knobs of the delivery device are manufactured from a polymer material and via an injection molding process. The handle and knobs are coupled via an interference fit. However, other materials, processes of making, and methods of coupling may be used. The components of the shaft are made from a metal material via an extrusion or drawings process. The components of the shaft are coupled to the handle and knobs via a threaded fit or an interference fit. However, other materials, processes of making, and methods of coupling may be used. 
     As various modifications could be made in the constructions and methods herein described and illustrated without departing from the scope of the invention, it is intended that all matter contained in the foregoing description or shown in the accompanying drawings shall be interpreted as illustrative rather than limiting. Thus, the breadth and scope of the present invention should not be limited by any of the above-described exemplary embodiments, but should be defined only in accordance with the following claims appended hereto and their equivalents.

Technology Classification (CPC): 0