Small-Animal Operating Table Nosecone for Stable Anesthesia
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional operating surfaces for small animals, particularly birds, fail to provide adequate head support and gas anesthesia delivery, posing challenges in ocular surgery and imaging procedures, and expose laboratory staff to noxious fumes.
Innovation Solution
An operating table with a housing featuring a depression and adjustable nosecone, including a delivery port for medicated gas and a vacuum port to scavenge excess gas, providing stable head positioning and reducing fume exposure.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If conventional operating surfaces are used for small animals, then the device complexity is low, but head support and gas anesthesia delivery are inadequate
Solution Approach 1:
The operating table is divided into distinct functional segments: a depression for body positioning, a head support for head stabilization, and a nosecone assembly for gas delivery. This segmentation allows each component to be optimized for its specific function while maintaining overall system manageability
Solution Approach 2:
The nosecone assembly serves multiple functions simultaneously: it delivers medicated gas through the delivery port, removes excess gas through the vacuum port, and provides head positioning through the head support liner. This multi-functionality improves reliability without proportionally increasing complexity
2Reliability
If conventional operating surfaces are used, then the device complexity is low, but gas anesthesia delivery is inadequate and staff are exposed to noxious fumes
Solution Approach 1:
The gas management system is segmented into separate delivery and removal pathways: a delivery port for administering medicated gas and a vacuum port for removing excess gas. This segmentation ensures reliable anesthesia delivery while preventing fume exposure to staff
Solution Approach 2:
The vacuum port system converts the potentially harmful excess medicated gas into a beneficial flow pattern, directing excess gas away from staff and into a controlled removal pathway, thereby protecting personnel while maintaining effective anesthesia delivery
3Stability of the object's composition
If head support is elevated relative to depression, then head positioning stability is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The head support liner is merged with the nosecone assembly, creating an integrated structure that provides both head positioning and gas delivery functions. This integration improves head positioning stability while minimizing the increase in device complexity through combined functionality
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
Enhances head stability during surgery, reduces fume exposure, and improves procedural efficiency and safety by ensuring optimal head positioning and anesthesia management.
Implementation Method 1
a vacuum port configured to couple to a vacuum source to remove excess medicated gas
Data Source
AI summary
An operating table for a small animal may include a housing defining a depression sized to receive a small animal. An operating table for a small animal may include an adjustable nosecone including: a head support liner coupled to the housing and elevated relative to the depression, a delivery port for receiving medicated gas; and a vacuum port configured to couple to a vacuum source to remove excess medicated gas.