Automated Tool Holding for Medical Instrument Retraction
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Solution Overview
Problem
Minimally invasive medical procedures require complex manual coordination of elongate devices and medical tools, necessitating awkward and difficult control to maintain tool position during retraction and steering, effectively becoming a 'three-handed' operation.
Innovation Solution
A medical system automates the workflow by coordinating the movement of elongate members and medical tools, allowing for simultaneous retraction and extension to maintain tool position, using actuators and sensors to control the backend mechanism and tool holder.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If manual coordination of elongate devices and medical tools is used, then flexibility and adaptability are maintained, but operation complexity increases and control becomes awkward and difficult
Solution Approach 1:
A control system is introduced as an intermediary between the user and the medical instrument components. This control system receives user inputs and automatically coordinates the movement of the elongate device and medical tool, eliminating the need for manual coordination while maintaining operational flexibility.
Solution Approach 2:
The manual mechanical coordination system is replaced with an automated control system that uses electronic signals and programmed logic to manage the movement and positioning of instrument components, substituting complex manual mechanical coordination with automated electronic control.
2Reliability
If simultaneous retraction and extension of elongate member and tool is performed manually, then tool position can be maintained, but the operation becomes a 'three-handed' operation requiring awkward coordination
Solution Approach 1:
The control functions for the elongate device and medical tool are merged into a single integrated control system. This allows simultaneous retraction and extension operations to be coordinated automatically as a unified action sequence, maintaining tool position stability without requiring separate manual coordination of multiple components.
Solution Approach 2:
Position sensors provide real-time feedback on the locations of both the elongate device and medical tool. The control system uses this feedback information to automatically adjust and coordinate movements, ensuring tool position stability while simplifying the operation from a complex three-handed task to a single coordinated action.
3Measurement precision
If multiple degrees of freedom are managed manually, then precise tool positioning is achieved, but control management becomes complex and time-consuming
Solution Approach 1:
The control system is pre-programmed with the necessary coordination logic for managing multiple degrees of freedom. This preliminary programming allows the system to automatically execute precise positioning sequences without requiring real-time manual calculation and coordination, thereby achieving high precision while reducing control management time.
Data Source
AI summary
A backend mechanism of a control system for an elongated medical instrument includes a tool holder to retain and move a tool relative to the elongated medical instrument.