Articulating Shaft with Slat Assemblies for Medical Devices
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing surgical articulating shafts are complex, expensive to manufacture, and lack rigidity due to insufficient tensioning mechanisms, limiting their ability to maintain a stable bend and requiring multiple tensioning mechanisms for bidirectional bending.
Innovation Solution
A medical device featuring a bendable shaft formed from alternating pivot members and slat assemblies that pivotally connect adjacent members, allowing simultaneous pushing and pulling forces to bend the shaft, providing rigidity and ease of operation with a preconfigured curve.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If tensioning mechanisms are used to enable the shaft to bend, then the shaft can articulate, but the device complexity increases and manufacturing cost increases
Solution Approach 1:
The shaft is divided into multiple articulated segments that can bend relative to each other. Each segment contains guide structure elements that work with corresponding elements in adjacent segments to enable controlled bending without requiring complex tensioning mechanisms throughout the entire shaft length.
Solution Approach 2:
Instead of using tensioning mechanisms to pull segments together to create bending, the invention uses guide structures that allow segments to slide and rotate relative to each other, with bending achieved through the interaction of guide surfaces rather than active tensioning.
2Adaptability or versatility
If one-way bending mechanisms are used, then the shaft can bend in a single direction, but the shaft cannot navigate circuitous pathways requiring multi-directional bending
Solution Approach 1:
The guide structures are arranged to permit bending in multiple directions by providing guide surfaces oriented at different angles. This allows the shaft to navigate circuitous pathways in three-dimensional space rather than being limited to a single bending plane.
3Adaptability or versatility
If multiple tensioning mechanisms are provided for bidirectional bending, then the shaft can bend in opposite directions, but the device complexity and manufacturing cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
The guide structures serve multiple functions: they enable bidirectional bending, provide structural support, and guide the relative motion between segments. This multi-functionality eliminates the need for separate tensioning mechanisms for each bending direction.
4Ease of operation
If distal bending is achieved with proximal mechanisms, then the shaft can be controlled from the proximal end, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The bending control function is distributed to each segment through the guide structures, rather than requiring a complex transmission system to transmit forces from the proximal end to the distal segments. Each segment independently achieves bending through its guide structure interactions.
5Adaptability or versatility
If standard tensioning mechanisms are used, then the shaft can articulate, but the shaft lacks sufficient rigidity to maintain articulated form
Solution Approach 1:
The guide structures are designed with specific geometric characteristics that provide rigidity in the direction perpendicular to bending while allowing smooth motion in the bending direction. This local structural optimization enables the shaft to maintain its articulated form without requiring overall structural reinforcement.
Data Source
Figure 1~2
Figure 3~4B
Figure 5~7
AI summary
A medical device (10) includes an articulating shaft (20, 20a, 20b, 20c, 2Od, 2Oe, or 2Of) with a pair of slat assemblies (31, 33). By moving an articulator (37), the slat assemblies (31, 33) are configured to concurrently push while the other pulls in order to bend the articulating shaft (20). The articulating shaft (20) includes a series of pivot members (26, 26a, 26b, 26c, 26d, 126e and 226e, or 126f and 226f). The pivot members (26) may include inner links (126e, 126f) and outer links (226e, 226f). A method for articulating a shaft of a medical device is also provided.