Articulation Insert for Surgical Stapler Shaft Bending
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Solution Overview
Problem
In minimally invasive surgery, accessing tissue can be challenging due to anatomical constraints, often requiring additional incisions or instruments, which increases procedure time and expense, and complicates re-localization of the surgical site.
Innovation Solution
An articulated surgical stapler with a flexible or rigid shaft featuring an articulated region and an articulation insert, allowing for controlled bending and rotation to reach target areas without the need for additional incisions or instruments, facilitated by slots and inserts that enable lateral or multi-planar movement, and a feeder belt system for staple deployment.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If additional incisions are made to access tissue, then access to difficult-to-reach areas is improved, but the number of incisions increases leading to more scarring and longer healing time
Solution Approach 1:
The surgical instrument incorporates an articulated region with slots and articulation inserts that enable dynamic bending and rotation of the shaft. This allows the instrument to change its configuration from straight to curved, adapting to anatomical constraints and reaching difficult-to-access tissue areas through a single incision, thereby eliminating the need for additional incisions and reducing scarring and healing time
Solution Approach 2:
The articulation mechanism introduces additional degrees of freedom by enabling the shaft to bend in multiple directions (lateral and longitudinal planes). This dimensional flexibility allows the instrument to navigate complex anatomical pathways and access target tissues that would otherwise require multiple incisions, solving the contradiction between accessibility and minimal invasiveness
2Adaptability or versatility
If multiple surgical instruments are used to access different areas, then comprehensive tissue access is improved, but procedure time and expense increase
Solution Approach 1:
The surgical instrument is designed with a multi-functional articulation system that can reach various tissue areas through different bending configurations. The articulated region with its slot-and-insert mechanism enables the single instrument to perform the functions of multiple instruments by adjusting its shape and orientation, thereby reducing procedure time and expense while maintaining comprehensive tissue access capability
Solution Approach 2:
The shaft is divided into segments by the articulation region with slots and inserts, allowing independent movement and bending of different sections. This segmentation enables the instrument to navigate complex anatomical structures and access multiple tissue areas sequentially, replacing the need for multiple instruments and reducing overall procedure time
3Ease of operation
If additional incisions are made, then access to target tissue is improved, but the complexity of re-localizing the surgical site increases
Solution Approach 1:
The articulated shaft with its dynamic bending capability allows the surgeon to reach target tissue through a single incision by adjusting the instrument's configuration. This eliminates the need to create and track multiple incision sites, significantly simplifying the re-localization process while maintaining full access to the target tissue
Data Source
AI summary
An exemplary surgical apparatus may include a flexible articulation insert and at least one feeder belt extending through the articulation insert, where at least some of the staples are frangibly connected to the feeder belt. Another exemplary surgical apparatus may include at least one movable feeder belt; staples fixed to the feeder belt; and a flexible articulation insert having at least one feeder belt passage defined therein, the flexible articulation insert configured to bend through a range of motion; where each feeder belt extends through a corresponding feeder belt passage, and where each feeder belt passage is shaped such that the corresponding feeder belt and staples fixed thereto are slidable along the passage throughout the entire range of motion of the flexible articulation insert.