Published date: 3/3/2026

Value Proposition: Suture-free device that utilizes an array of teeth to help hold repair tendons in place to improve attachment strength.

Technology Description

Researchers at Washington University in St. Louis have developed a device to strengthen the reattachment of soft tissue to bone for use in orthopedic procedures such as rotator cuff repairs. Although tendon and ligament tears are common, the techniques used to reattach these tissues to bone often fail. Current methods for reattaching soft tissue to bone involve anchors and sutures through the re-attached tendon. This results in high stress regions at the suture points which are susceptible to re-injury– tearing or rupture.

This invention utilizes a biomimetic approach to augment standard tendon-to-bone repair inspired by the remarkable grasping ability of python teeth on their prey. Placed at the interface between soft tissue and bone, this device distributes forces more evenly across a larger surface area, thereby improving attachment strength. Additionally, this device could be used in orthopedics and other surgical specialties to augment or replace sutures.

A) The standard approach of reattaching soft tissue to bone concentrates mechanical stress, often leading to repeated failure. B) Together with sutures or alone, the array of small teeth distributes the mechanical load over a larger area, increasing the strength of the attachment and improving repair success.

Stage of Research

Developed a prototype using computational modeling and mechanical tests on ex vivo tissue, the inventors have optimized the design of their device for maximum grasping strength. Also evaluated the fit and qualitative grasping ability of different prototypes in a human cadaver shoulder.

Publications

Linderman SW, Golman M, Gardner TR, Birman V, Levine WN, Genin GM, Thomopoulos S. Enhanced tendon-to-bone repair through adhesive films. Acta Biomater. 2018 Apr 1;70:165-176. doi: 10.1016/j.actbio.2018.01.032. Epub 2018 Feb 8. PMID: 29427745; PMCID: PMC5871607.

Applications

• Soft tissue-hard tissue fixation

• Tendon reattachment

Key Advantages

• Could bolster the strength of tendon-to-bone repairs by over 25% when combined with standard suture techniques based on mechanical tests with cow tendons

Patents
Patent pending

Related Web Links – Guy Genin Profile; Genin Lab