Auto-locking Wound Retractor for Insufflation Pressure Maintenance
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Solution Overview
Problem
In minimally invasive surgical procedures, telesurgical systems face challenges in maintaining insufflation pressure and relocating the remote center of motion during surgery, especially with single-port systems where instruments need to be precisely positioned and multiple instruments must be managed through a single incision, while also ensuring effective access and triangulation.
Innovation Solution
A wound retractor with a sleeve, inner, and outer ring configuration that allows for adjustable tension and auto-locking mechanisms to maintain insufflation pressure and facilitate the relocation of the remote center of motion, coupled with an instrument access device that provides a pressurized envelope for instrument articulation outside the body.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Length of moving object
If the constrained remote center of motion is located at the patient's body wall, then sufficient distance between the remote center of motion and end effector is provided, but insufflation gas pressure cannot be maintained when instruments are inserted or removed
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a port assembly as an intermediary device between the body cavity and the external environment. This port assembly includes a port that receives a cannula and a seal that maintains insufflation pressure when the cannula is inserted or removed. The port assembly acts as a mediator that allows instrument access while preserving the sealed environment needed for insufflation pressure maintenance.
2Adaptability or versatility
If multiple instruments are introduced through a single body opening, then triangulation and access are improved, but the cluster of instruments blocks access locations for additional instruments
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs an inflatable envelope that extends the working space in a third dimension (outside the body). This allows instruments to articulate and move in multiple directions and planes outside the body while maintaining a single port insertion point. The envelope creates an external workspace that eliminates the blocking problem by providing dimensional separation between instruments.
3Length of moving object
If the constrained remote center of motion is relocated distally as surgery progresses, then access to deeper surgical sites is improved, but the remote center of motion constraint must be changed during surgery
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs an adjustable and reconfigurable port assembly that can be repositioned along the instrument shaft during surgery. This dynamic adjustment capability allows the remote center of motion to be relocated distally as needed to access deeper surgical sites. The port assembly can be moved to different positions while maintaining the single-port configuration, providing flexibility without requiring complete system replacement.
4Object-affected harmful factors
If a single-port system is used to minimize tissue trauma, then the number of incisions is reduced, but the instrument cluster blocks some access locations
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements a nested configuration where multiple instruments are passed through a single cannula within the port assembly. The instruments are nested within each other during insertion, then diverge within the body cavity to provide triangulation. This nesting approach minimizes the number of incisions (reducing tissue trauma) while still allowing multiple instruments to access different locations within the body.
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 efficient maintenance of insufflation pressure and flexible instrument positioning, allowing for effective triangulation and access during minimally invasive surgeries, improving surgical precision and reducing tissue trauma.
Implementation Method 1
A portion of the sleeve is captured between the tapered outer surface and the tapered inner surface
Data Source
AI summary
A wound retractor includes a sleeve with proximal and distal ends, an inner ring inside the sleeve between the proximal and distal ends, and an outer ring outside the sleeve between the proximal and distal ends. The inner ring includes a tapered outer surface that increases in diameter from a proximal end of the inner ring toward a distal end of the inner ring. The outer ring includes a tapered inner surface that increases in diameter from a proximal end of the outer ring toward a distal end of the outer ring. A portion of the sleeve is captured between the tapered outer surface and the tapered inner surface.