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15 August 2018

New 3D printed automated suturing devices offer alternative to hand stitching

Sutrue has created two new devices which are set to transform the suturing process and potentially save the NHS millions of pounds each year. The devices are a Handheld Suturing Device and Endoscopic / Robotic Suturing Device. They offer medics an alternative to hand stitching and were created utilising metals additive manufacturing.

The devices transform the manual process of stitching into a far simpler, quicker and more accurate automated process, thus reducing the margin for human error. There have been over 10,000 patent attempts to produce a device that sutures wounds and Sutrue is the first to successfully achieve the creation and patenting of a suturing mechanism that works with any standard 5/8ths medical needle.

Both types of devices can produce a row of sutures, tie a knot and sew around a corner. Their ability to do this means that they have numerous significant benefits within medicine, in addition to the handheld device having a wide range of industrial applications. The creation of these devices has been a feat of engineering that has used modern 3D printing capabilities to impact the future of medical research and development.

Once designed by Sutrue, the parts were additively manufactured by Concept Laser, before Sutrue assembled them into numerous medical prototypes - sometimes straight from the printer with minimal post processing. This in turn saved considerable time and cost and has resulted in the completion of a series of fully-functioning medical prototypes.


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