Knotless suture anchor

A suture anchor, comprising:

• an outer member comprising an outer axial lumen comprising an inner suture surface extending along a longitudinal axis;
• and
• an elongated inner member adapted to be movable along the longitudinal axis between at least two positions within the outer axial lumen, two of the positions being a suture-unlocked position and a suture-locked position;
• a distal portion of the elongated inner member comprising an outer suture surface, and an inner axial lumen defined by an inner surface of the distal portion of the elongated inner member, the inner surface of the distal portion of the elongated inner member comprising a frangible portion, the frangible portion comprising a plurality of threads;
• and
• at least one longitudinal projection extending from the distal portion of the elongated inner member along the longitudinal axis and terminating at a proximal end of the elongated inner member, the proximal end having an outer dimension that increases relative to the longitudinal axis when the elongated inner member is moved from the suture-unlocked position to the suture-locked position;
• wherein the plurality of threads are configured to engage a mandrel that effectuates the movement between the suture-unlocked position and the suture-locked position in a manner that engages a suture material between the outer suture surface and the inner suture surface in the suture-locked position, and
• wherein the at least one longitudinal projection comprises a first distal facing shoulder on an external surface of the elongated inner member and the outer member further comprises a first proximal facing shoulder, the first distal facing shoulder engaging with the first proximal facing shoulder in said suture-locked position.

An anchoring system, comprising:

• an inserter comprising a distal end having a mandrel and a proximal end having an actuator device, the actuator device being coupled to the mandrel in a manner that is configured to move the mandrel from a suture-unlocked position to a suture-locked position;
• and
• a knotless suture anchor coupled to the mandrel, the knotless suture anchor comprising an elongated inner member and an outer member in surrounding relation to the elongated inner member,
• the outer member comprising an outer axial lumen receiving the elongated inner member and allowing the elongated inner member to be movable between at least two positions, two of the positions being the suture-unlocked position and the suture-locked position,
• a cylindrical inner suture surface of the outer member extending along and encircling a longitudinal axis of the knotless suture anchor,
• a distal portion of the elongated inner member comprising an outer suture surface extending coaxially with said inner suture surface and an inner axial lumen defined by an inner surface of the distal portion of the elongated inner member, the inner surface of the distal portion of the elongated inner member comprising a frangible portion configured to engage the mandrel, the mandrel configured to exert a force required to move the elongated inner member from the suture-unlocked position to the suture-locked position, a suture material being engaged between the inner suture surface and the outer suture surface when the elongated inner member is in the suture-locked position,
• a proximal portion of the elongated inner member extending away from the distal portion of the elongated inner member, the proximal portion comprising a proximal end having an outer dimension that increases in relation to the longitudinal axis when the elongated inner member is moved from the suture-unlocked position to the suture-locked position, and
• a suture loading mechanism coupled to the inserter, the suture loading mechanism including filaments extending through the outer axial lumen and between the inner suture surface and the outer suture surface.