Articulating Suction Stabilizer for Endoscopic Beating-Heart Bypass
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing stabilization tools for minimally invasive cardiac surgery, particularly for total endoscopic coronary artery bypass, face challenges in inserting through small incisions and providing effective stabilization of the heart during beating without requiring heart-lung bypass machines.
Innovation Solution
A reconfigurable, elongated stabilizer tool with a suction mechanism, featuring an articulating hub and pivotable suction arms, designed for insertion through small incisions, which can adhere to the heart surface via vacuum pressure and be manipulated remotely or manually to stabilize the area for anastomosis.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a stabilization tool with suction capability is designed to provide effective heart stabilization, then the stabilization effectiveness is improved, but the tool becomes too large to insert through small incisions
Solution Approach 1:
The stabilizer tool is divided into multiple segments: a shaft portion for insertion, an articulating hub for positioning, and multiple suction arms for contact with the heart. This segmentation allows the tool to achieve a large effective stabilization area while maintaining a small profile for insertion through 12mm incisions.
Solution Approach 2:
The tool transitions from a one-dimensional insertion approach to a three-dimensional stabilization configuration. The suction arms can be deployed from the articulating hub in multiple directions, creating a large stabilization footprint without increasing the insertion profile diameter.
2Reliability
If the tool is made rigid to restrain beating heart movements, then the stabilization reliability is improved, but the tool becomes difficult to manipulate through small incisions
Solution Approach 1:
The tool incorporates dynamic elements including an articulating hub that can pivot between locked and unlocked positions, and suction arms that can be independently positioned and locked. This allows the tool to be flexible during insertion and manipulation, then rigid when stabilization is required.
Solution Approach 2:
The articulating hub acts as an intermediary mechanism between the insertion shaft and the suction arms. It provides a pivot point that allows the suction arms to be positioned and locked independently, enabling manipulation through small incisions while maintaining stabilization reliability when engaged.
3Reliability
If multiple suction arms are deployed to increase stabilization surface area, then the stabilization effectiveness is improved, but the tool complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
Multiple suction arms are merged into a single articulating hub assembly that can be deployed and locked as a unit. The suction arms share common mounting mechanisms and control systems, reducing the overall complexity compared to having separate stabilization devices.
Solution Approach 2:
The articulating hub serves multiple functions: it acts as a mounting structure for the suction arms, a pivot mechanism for positioning, and a locking mechanism for stabilization. This multi-functionality reduces the need for separate components and simplifies the overall tool structure.
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
Enables effective stabilization of the heart during robotic surgery, allowing procedures like OPCABG to be performed without open chest incisions, maintaining a stable working space for robotic instruments and reducing the need for heart-lung bypass machines.
Implementation Method 1
The suction arms are configured to adhere to a tissue surface of the patient when receiving the vacuum pressure
Data Source
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AI summary
A reconfigurable tool carries suction pods adapted for robotic surgery wherein a distal end with the suction pods is insertable through a small port incised in a living body to reach a working space for performing cardiac repairs. The tool has an articulating hub with a base part and a sliding part, wherein the suction pods pivot from the sliding part. The base part has a keyed surface configured to interlock with a keyed surface of the pods. A pullcord for retracting the suction pods toward a support tube of the tool has a loosened state wherein the first and second keyed surfaces can be spaced apart so that the suction pods can be spread for grasping a tissue to be stabilized at desired locations. The pullcord has a tightened state wherein the first and second keyed surfaces are interlocked so that the suction pods are inhibited from pivoting.