Texas Scottish Rite Hospital for Children won a patent for a suture anchor that a surgeon can loosen after surgery with a magnet held outside the patient’s body. All three listed inventors work in North Texas.
A suture anchor fastens a stitch to bone. In this design, a magnet built into the anchor rests in a first position that keeps the suture under tension. Bringing an external magnet near the patient shifts the internal magnet to a second position, thereby releasing the tension in the suture. The patent covers the anchor itself, the related compositions and the method of moving it. It does not specify which procedures the device is meant for.
The assignee is the Dallas nonprofit pediatric hospital. Brad Anthony Niese of Southlake, Henry Ellis of Frisco and Philip L. Wilson of Pilot Point are the listed inventors…