Knotless suture anchor

Claim 2

1 . A knotless suture anchor for anchoring a suture thread to tissue, comprising: an inner member including a proximal shaft and a distal securing member shaped to secure the inner member to the tissue, the proximal shaft including a first locking part and at least one hole extending therethrough for receiving the suture thread; and a collar member including an axial bore shaped to receive the proximal shaft of the inner member, a second locking part, and at least one hole extending therethrough and assigned to the hole of the proximal shaft of the inner member, the collar member being axially slidable into unlocked and locked positions relative to the proximal shaft of the inner member, the collar member being relatively axially slidable into the locked position only to secure the suture thread; wherein the hole of the collar member is aligned with the hole of the proximal shaft of the inner member when the collar member is placed into the unlocked position, the hole of the collar member is misaligned with the hole of the proximal shaft of the inner member when the collar member is placed into the locked position, and the first locking part of the proximal shaft engages with the second locking part of the collar member to axially lock the collar member with respect to the proximal shaft when the collar member is placed into the locked position.

Claim 3

2 . The knotless suture anchor of claim 1 , wherein the distal securing member includes at least one annular rib.

Claim 4

3 . The knotless suture anchor of claim 1 , wherein the first locking part of the proximal shaft includes a flange portion having a sloped proximal surface and a distal locking lip, and the second locking part of the collar member includes a transverse slot, an annular flange extending radially inward, and a countersink portion formed in a distal end of the annular flange.

Claim 5

4 . The knotless suture anchor of claim 1 , wherein the proximal shaft of the inner member includes an additional hole for receiving an actuating line.

Claim 6

5 . The knotless suture anchor of claim 4 , wherein the actuating line includes at least one material selected from the group consisting of ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene, Kevlar and Spectra.

Claim 7

6 . The knotless suture anchor of claim 4 , wherein the actuating line is an additional length of suture thread.

Claim 8

7 . The knotless suture anchor of claim 4 , wherein the proximal shaft of the inner member includes a frangible portion configured to disconnect at least a portion of the proximal shaft when an excess proximal force is exerted on the actuating line.

Claim 9

8 . The knotless suture anchor of claim 1 , wherein the proximal shaft of the inner member includes two holes, and the collar member includes two holes assigned to the holes of the proximal shaft, the holes of the proximal shaft and the collar member being shaped to receive respective ends of the suture thread when the collar member is placed into the unlocked position with respect to the proximal shaft of the inner member.

Claim 10

9 . The knotless suture anchor of claim 8 , wherein the proximal shaft of the inner member includes an additional hole for receiving an actuating line.

Claim 11

10 . The knotless suture anchor of claim 9 , wherein the actuating line comprises a length of ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene suture thread.

Claim 12

11 . The knotless suture anchor of claim 9 , wherein the proximal shaft of the inner member includes a frangible portion configured to disconnect at least a portion of the proximal shaft when an excess proximal force is exerted on the actuating line.

Claim 13

12 . The knotless suture anchor of claim 1 , wherein the suture anchor is bio-absorbable.

Claim 14

13 . A method of inserting a knotless suture anchor into bone, the method comprising: providing a knotless suture anchor including: an inner member including a proximal shaft and a distal securing member shaped to secure the inner member to the tissue, the proximal shaft including a first locking part and at least one hole extending therethrough for receiving the suture thread; and a collar member including an axial bore shaped to receive the proximal shaft of the inner member, a second locking part, and at least one hole extending therethrough and assigned to the hole of the proximal shaft of the inner member, the collar member being axially slidable into unlocked and locked positions relative to the proximal shaft of the inner member, the collar member being relatively axially slidable into the locked position only to secure the suture thread; wherein the hole of the collar member is aligned with the hole of the proximal shaft of the inner member when the collar member is placed into the unlocked position, the hole of the collar member is misaligned with the hole of the proximal shaft of the inner member when the collar member is placed into the locked position, and the first locking part of the proximal shaft engages with the second locking part of the collar member to axially lock the collar member with respect to the proximal shaft when the collar member is placed into the locked position; placing the collar member of the suture anchor into the unlocked position with respect to the proximal shaft of the inner member; threading the suture thread thorough a portion of soft tissue; threading the suture thread through the holes of the collar member and the proximal shaft of the inner member; inserting the knotless suture anchor into the bone; sliding the collar member from the unlocked position to the locked position to frictionally secure the suture thread between an outer surface of the proximal shaft and an inner surface of the collar member.

Claim 15

13 . A method of inserting a knotless suture anchor into bone, the method comprising: providing a knotless suture anchor including: an inner member including a proximal shaft and a distal securing member shaped to secure the inner member to the tissue, the proximal shaft including a first locking part and at least one hole extending therethrough for receiving the suture thread; and a collar member including an axial bore shaped to receive the proximal shaft of the inner member, a second locking part, and at least one hole extending therethrough and assigned to the hole of the proximal shaft of the inner member, the collar member being axially slidable into unlocked and locked positions relative to the proximal shaft of the inner member, the collar member being relatively axially slidable into the locked position only to secure the suture thread; wherein the hole of the collar member is aligned with the hole of the proximal shaft of the inner member when the collar member is placed into the unlocked position, the hole of the collar member is misaligned with the hole of the proximal shaft of the inner member when the collar member is placed into the locked position, and the first locking part of the proximal shaft engages with the second locking part of the collar member to axially lock the collar member with respect to the proximal shaft when the collar member is placed into the locked position; placing the collar member of the suture anchor into the unlocked position with respect to the proximal shaft of the inner member; threading the suture thread thorough a portion of soft tissue; threading the suture thread through the holes of the collar member and the proximal shaft of the inner member; inserting the knotless suture anchor into the bone; sliding the collar member from the unlocked position to the locked position to frictionally secure the suture thread between an outer surface of the proximal shaft and an inner surface of the collar member.

Claim 16

14 . The method of claim 13 , wherein the proximal shaft of the inner member includes an additional hole for receiving an actuating line, the method further comprising: threading the actuating line through the additional hole of the proximal shaft of the inner member; and exerting a proximal force on the actuating line to move the collar member relatively with respect to the proximal shaft to place the collar member in the locked position with respect to the proximal shaft of the inner member.

Claim 17

15 . The method of claim 13 , wherein the actuating line includes at least one material selected from the group consisting of ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene, Kevlar and Spectra.

Claim 18

16 . The knotless suture anchor of claim 15 , wherein the actuating line is an additional length of suture thread.

Claim 19

17 . The method of claim 14 , wherein the proximal shaft of the inner member includes a frangible portion configured to disconnect at least a portion of the proximal shaft when an excess proximal force is exerted on the actuating line.

Claim 20

18 . The method of claim 13 , wherein the knotless suture anchor is bio-absorbable.

Claim 21

19 . The method of claim 13 , wherein the proximal shaft of the inner member includes two holes, and the collar member includes two holes assigned to the holes of the proximal shaft, the holes of the proximal shaft and the collar member being shaped to receive respective ends of the suture thread when the collar member is placed into the unlocked position with respect to the proximal shaft of the inner member.

Claim 22

20 . The method of claim 19 , wherein the proximal shaft of the inner member includes an additional hole for receiving an actuating line, the method further comprising: threading the actuating line through the additional hole of the proximal shaft of the inner member; and exerting a proximal force on the actuating line to move the collar member relatively with respect to the proximal shaft to place the collar member in the locked position with respect to the proximal shaft of the inner member.

Claim 23

21 . The method of claim 20 , wherein the proximal shaft of the inner member includes a frangible portion configured to disconnect at least a portion of the proximal shaft when an excess proximal force is exerted on the actuating line.