Importance

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Abstract

Apparatus for securing an object to bone, the apparatus comprising:

a suture anchor assembly comprising a suture anchor body and a suture; the suture anchor body being configured to be lockingly disposed within a hole formed in the bone, and having an opening formed therein for slidably receiving the suture therethrough;the suture having a first end, a second end and an intermediate portion extending therebetween;the suture extending through the opening in the suture anchor body so that the intermediate portion forms a loop on one side of the opening and the first and second ends are disposed on the other side of the opening, such that when the first end of the suture is passed through the loop and securingly engages the object, pulling on the second end of the suture draws the loop and a captured portion of the suture along a path toward the opening in the suture anchor body;the suture anchor body being configured so that when the suture anchor body is disposed in the hole in the bone, a tapered binding zone is established along the path followed by the loop and the captured portion of the suture when the second end of the suture is pulled, the tapered binding zone having a successively decreasing cross-sectional area such that continued pulling of the second end of the suture causes the loop and the captured portion of the suture to be jammed tightly in the tapered binding zone, whereby to bind the suture, and hence the object, to the suture anchor body, which is itself lockingly disposed within the bone.

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First Claim