Laparoscopic Fascia Closure Device

Herniation is the main complication of laparoscopic surgery procedures. It occurs when the fascia layer that protects the muscles and internal organs is not properly closed, and sometimes not even closed at all, after laparoscopic surgery. To reduce time spent in the operating room, post-operative pain for the patient, and cost incurred for additional procedures as a result of herniations, we designed and prototyped VeraClose—a fascial closure device that provides an automated closure method for port sites ranging from 5 millimeters to 30 millimeters that can deliver multiple consistent sutures. VeraClose is designed to be faster than manual suturing, which is currently the standard of care. It is a cylindrical 10 millimeters device with a removable handle. The handle is made out of stainless steel and meant to be reuseable. The body of the device houses one needle with a novel geometry that minimizes the pinching of the fascia and delivers a consistent bite. To be able to close multiple ports, the device has multiple cartridges of suture attached to caps that serve to pass suture back and forth to create a loop that closes the port. These caps have a novel geometry that allows it to be reloaded and deloaded as the needle closes the fascia. Currently, a scaled-up prototype of the device has been 3-D printed. We are looking to print VeraClose in true scale, which will allow us to do robustness testing in PDMS and operations testing in cadavers.