If you are new, see patent and prior art basics and tips for Patexia's prior art contests, and refer to the submission notes below. The following questions will help you understand specifically what we are looking for in this study.

We request previously undiscovered prior art including products, patents, and non-patent literature which can help invalidate claims 34, 153, and 168 of 5,782,862 -- “Suture anchor inserter assembly and method.” This patent describes a hand-held device for inserting a suture and suture anchor through a perforation in body tissue.

Fig. 1 -- Hand-held suture anchor inserter device; exemplary operation.

For more detail about sutures and suture anchors, please check the contest “bone suture.”

The anchor with attached suture protrudes through the tip at the end of the device. At the tip, an outer member maintains the alignment of the anchor while tension in the suture holds the anchor in place against an inner member.

Fig. 2 -- Suture anchor holder tip: a) tip cutaway detail; b) outer member in extended position; c) outer member in retracted position, retraction distance.

To administer the anchor, the handle and inner member move forward relative to the outer member and the body tissue, pushing the anchor into place. Fig. 2 shows the device with the inner member in its retracted (2a) and extended (2b) positions. Once the suture and anchor are in place, the inner member is retracted and the device is removed. This insertion process is shown in Fig. 3.

Fig. 3 -- Steps for anchor insertion: a) anchor held in place by outer member; b) inner member used to push anchor into place; c) removing inner member  and rotating anchor into place; d) pulling suture tight.

Most importantly, we are looking for this type of suture-insertion device with a means for limiting the depth of insertion by restricting the relative travel distance of the inner and outer members. Importantly, either the inner or the outer member can be fixed to the handle of the device, with the other movable relative to the handle.

Fig. 4 -- A depth selector actuator on the handle allows the user to adjust the distance between the extended and retracted positions of the movable member, thus controlling the depth of insertion of the suture anchor.

Sources included in contest submissions should clearly describe suture-insertion device described above. Source material can include patents or patent applications filed before July 1st, 1996 or non-patent literature (for example advertisements, product documentation, technical descriptions, etc.) published before that date.

Questions

The following questions will help contestants identify and clarify the specific criteria we’re looking for, as well as help us select winning entries. The winner will be the first submission to answer the most questions beyond questions 1-5 and provide a clear, concise indication of where in each source we can find the pertinent support for each question answer.
 

1. Does the source describe a hand-held suture anchor inserter device before July 1st,1996?
2. Does the source describe a handle on the device?
3. Does the source describe an “outer” member extending from the handle, forming a chamber inside for accepting the suture anchor (as in Fig. 2a, 2b)?
4. Does the source describe an “inner” member extending from the handle along an interior of the outer member?
5. Is either the inner member or the outer member movable relative to the other?
6. Does the source describe a means for limiting the depth to which the anchor is inserted by limiting the relative movement between the outer and inner members?
7. Does the source describe the means for limiting depth control means as including a selector on the handle movable to selectively limit the relative movement between the inner member and the outer member?