Design of a minimally invasive arterial stitching device

With the development of minimally invasive surgical techniques, the number of femoral artery catheterization procedures continues to climb. The current procedure for closing the femoral artery incision site is crude, costly, time consuming, and uncomfortable for the patient. A device to close the incision site with standard surgical suture would limit cost, hospitalization time, and discomfort for the patient. A prototype design for a two arm, two needle, one suture device was developed and tested. Early animal trials with a pig supported proof of concept, therefore, further development and testing is ongoing. These indications provide encouragement that a safe, simple, inexpensive device to close arterial catheterization sites is possible.