Wound closure device

Applications

• Wound closure, surgical fastener

Technology Overview

Typical wound closure is done by sewing sutures through the opening and pulling the strands together. It presumes the clinician has ready access to the site and free hands/fingers to perform the closure and that the sutures do not get entangled during the closing. Researchers at the University of Minnesota have developed a new medical device that allows for the efficient and reproducible closure of wounds, and holes from the installation of chest and surgical tubes.This new design enables closing of wounds where the opening may be below another device (e.g. the UMN Chest Tube Holder). This design allows clinicians to close the wound with minimal demand on their hands freeing them to address other portions of the anatomy and/or operate other equipment simultaneously. In addition, this design provides reliable wound closure regardless of clinicians skill level.

Phase of Development

TRL: 4-5
Prototype developed and tested in an emulated environment.