Alshemari Instruments Releases Vertical Suture Needle Driver

Charlotte, N.C.-based Alshemari Instruments has launched its flagship product—a surgical device called the Alshemari Needle Driver. It is reportedly the only needle driver currently on the market that allows a surgeon to suture vertically.

Hasan Alshemari, M.D., a fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons of Canada and a pediatric otolaryngology specialist at the Zain Hospital in Kuwait, designed his needle driver device as a solution to the pain points he identified in the operating room. 
Alshemari’s needle driver allows the surgeon to apply sutures vertically without hand twisting. A surgeon is able to achieve greater accuracy and precision when suturing tissues in difficult-to-reach areas, such as narrow spaces or long reaching areas. The patented design features a lever clamp to ensure the needle is firmly held in a neutral position. The driver holds the needle parallel to the handles, rotated 90 degrees from traditional needle drivers. While commonly used drivers require elliptical motion to apply sutures, the Alshemari Needle Driver allows sutures to be applied with a vertical motion. In addition, the Alshemari Needle Driver ensures the surgeon’s hand is in a steady and comfortable position for the careful application of sutures, Alshemari Instruments claims. 

“As physicians, we have to excel in tight, difficult spaces and we often have to manipulate instruments in minute increments and degrees,” sais Hasan Alshemari. “I wanted to invent a useful device that would allow for less invasive procedures, particularly in areas such as the base of the tongue or in hard to reach abdominal procedures.” 

Alshemari is a scientist at the Sabah Al-Ahmed Center for Giftedness and Creativity where he has honed his interest in surgical innovation. He ranks within the top 20 innovators from around the world with patent applications filed for new surgical instruments. In 2014, Alshemari was a nominee for the Best Young Surgeon Award in Dubai. 

While the Alshemari Needle Driver was conceived as an instrument for ENT (ear, nose, and throat) procedures, it can also be used throughout the body during open, laparoscopic and microscopic surgeries. The device made its industry debut at the American Academy of Otolaryngology – Head & Neck Surgery Annual Meeting in Dallas, Texas in September 2015.