A method and apparatus for coupling a soft tissue implant into a locking cavity formed within a bone is disclosed. The apparatus includes a member to pull the soft tissue implant into a femoral tunnel. The member includes a suture having first and second ends which are passed through first and second openings associated with the longitudinal passage to form a pair of loops. Portions of the suture lay parallel to each other within the suture. Application of tension onto the suture construction causes retraction of the soft tissue implant into the femoral tunnel.

A method comprises inserting a needle into a ventricle of a heart. The needle is configured to deliver a first anchoring element, a second anchoring element, and a tethering suture to the ventricle. The tethering suture is tethered between the first anchoring element and the second anchoring element. The method further comprises penetrating a first leaflet of a heart valve with the needle, penetrating a second leaflet of the heart valve with the needle, deploying the first anchoring element at a distal side of the second leaflet, retracting the needle from the first leaflet and the second leaflet, deploying the second anchoring element at a proximal side of the first leaflet, cinching the tethering suture to cause a desired amount of valve coaptation, and locking the tethering suture.

The present disclosure provides a system for enabling autonomous or semi-autonomous surgical operations. The system comprises: one or more processors that are individually or collectively configured to: process an image data stream comprising one or more images of a surgical site; fit a parametric model to a tissue surface identified in the one or more images; determine a direction for aligning a tool based in part on the parametric model; determine an optimal path for automatically moving the tool to perform a surgical procedure at the surgical site; and generate one or more control signals for controlling i) a movement of the tool based on the optimal path and ii) a tension force applied to the tissue by the tool during the surgical procedure.

An endoscopic suturing system and method are disclosed as are devices for use with the system and method such as a suture dispenser, a cinch device, and a tissue grasper. In one embodiment the suturing system includes a cap assembly arranged at the distal end portion of an endoscope or guide member, with the cap assembly including a rotatable needle holder. The needle holder is actuated through a transmission element extending outside the endoscope or guide member. A needle capture device may be inserted through a channel of the endoscope or guide member in order to capture a needle held in the needle holder when the needle holder is rotated so that the needle punctures tissue.

Apparatus for securing an object to bone, the apparatus including an anchor assembly comprising an anchor and an actuation element extending from the anchor, wherein applying a force to the actuation element when the anchor is disposed in a hole formed in a bone secures the anchor to the bone; and an inserter for deploying the anchor assembly in a hole formed in a bone, the inserter including a shaft for releasably engaging the anchor; and a force delivery mechanism mounted to the shaft and connected to the actuation element, the force delivery mechanism being constructed so as to receive an input force from an external source and to selectively apply an output force to the actuation element, with the force delivery mechanism being constructed so that the magnitude of the output force is limited regardless of the magnitude of the input force.

Devices, systems and/or methods for fixating soft tissue to bone are provided. In one embodiment, a repair device for fixating soft tissue to bone with a bone anchor includes a soft tissue anchor and one or more flexible members. The soft tissue anchor includes a base with multiple legs extending from the base. The one or more flexible members are coupled to the base and configured to extend from the base to the bone anchor with a fixed length. With this arrangement, the fixed length of the one or more flexible members is configured to maintain a fixed distance between the soft tissue anchor and the bone anchor such that, as the bone anchor is seated into bone, the one or more flexible members pulls the soft tissue anchor down against the soft tissue to fixate the soft tissue to the bone.

Methods of joint repair employing sutures and attached fixation devices are discussed. For example, a bone block graft procedure (e.g., Latarjet) is discussed which employs fixation devices to secure contact between graft surfaces of two bones. A suture construct, including a continuous suture loop routed through a first fastener, is secured to a first bone. Looped ends of the suture loop are passed through passageways formed in the two bones. The looped suture ends are further routed through a second fastener. The second fastener is mounted to the second bone and a sliding knot, formed in the looped suture ends, is advanced into contact with the second fastener. The suture is further tensioned using a tensioner device to secure the two bones together.

A surgical instrument having an anchor and a plug is capable of anchoring a suture. The suture anchor has an anchor body having a top surface, a bottom surface distal to the top surface, a transverse bore and a well, the well having an outer surface, an inner surface, and an inner bottom surface. The plug has a post, a head, and a bottom face. The anchor body and the anchor plus form a suture anchor. The suture anchor may be used during surgical procedures and can be used in the re-tensioning of a suture.

A forward-pushing for releasing suture locking device configured to fix a suture in a locking pin includes a collet and a thrust rod assembly sleeved outside the collet. The thrust rod assembly includes a thrust rod. A recessed portion is arranged at the thrust rod, and a protruding portion corresponding to the recessed portion is arranged at the collet. In a process that the thrust rod continuously moves distally in an axial direction, the thrust rod first pushes against a gradually raised side of the protruded portion, so as to allow the collet to deform to compress the locking pin, and allow the locking pin compressed by the collet to deform and fix the suture; and then the protruding portion is gradually accommodated in the recessed portion, so that at least part of deformations of the collet is restored to release the locking pin.

A set of devices and associated methodology for percutaneously closing a puncture through the wall of an artery. The method includes inserting a guide wire through a percutaneous entry and into the artery; using the guide wire to guide an insertion of an introducer catheter into the artery; inserting a balloon catheter through the introducer catheter and into the artery; locking a firing mechanism loaded with fasteners onto the introducer catheter, thereby aligning the puncture with a distal working end of the firing mechanism; activating the firing mechanism to fire two or more fasteners onto the artery, each fastener individually tethered to a suture; percutaneously tying the sutures together to draw the fasteners together, closing the puncture.