Cam-Controlled Knife for Multi-Fire Endocutter
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing surgical staplers, such as endocutters, require frequent cartridge replacement and reinsertion during minimally invasive surgery, making the process tedious and time-consuming, especially when multiple uses are required.
Innovation Solution
A multi-fire endocutter design that allows for multiple staple firings without the need for single-use cartridges, featuring a cam-controlled knife mechanism that rotates and moves to cut tissue efficiently, enabling continuous use without cartridge exchange.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If single-use cartridges are used in endocutters, then the device can be simple and easy to manufacture, but the surgical procedure becomes tedious and time-consuming due to frequent cartridge replacement and reinsertion
Solution Approach 1:
The endocutter is divided into reusable components (handle, anvil, knife mechanism) and disposable components (staple cartridge). This allows the complex knife mechanism to be manufactured once and reused, while only the simpler staple cartridge is replaced, reducing overall procedural time while maintaining manufacturing simplicity.
Solution Approach 2:
The knife is designed with dynamic motion capabilities, rotating between a stowed position (within the instrument) and a cutting position (extending outward). This dynamic positioning allows the knife to perform multiple cutting actions without requiring full removal and reinsertion of the entire endocutter, significantly reducing procedural time.
2Adaptability or versatility
If the endocutter is removed from the patient for cartridge replacement, then the cartridge can be exchanged, but the surgical site becomes difficult to locate and the process becomes inconvenient
Solution Approach 1:
The knife's dynamic rotation mechanism allows it to be quickly repositioned between stowed and cutting positions without removing the entire endocutter from the surgical site. This maintains adaptability for multiple staple firings while keeping the device continuously positioned at the surgical site, improving ease of operation.
Solution Approach 2:
The endocutter remains continuously positioned at the surgical site throughout the procedure, with only the knife angle changing. This eliminates the need to remove and reinsert the device, maintaining continuous useful action and making the surgical site easily locatable throughout the procedure.
3Volume of moving object
If the knife remains in the stowed position, then the device structure is compact, but the knife cannot cut tissue efficiently
Solution Approach 1:
The knife dynamically transitions between stowed and cutting positions based on surgical needs. In the stowed position, the device maintains compactness for safe navigation through the body. When cutting is required, the knife rotates to the cutting position, extending outward to efficiently cut tissue. This dynamic positioning resolves the contradiction between compactness and cutting efficiency.
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
This design streamlines surgical procedures by eliminating the need for frequent cartridge replacement and reinsertion, reducing procedural time and complexity, particularly in procedures requiring multiple tissue transections.
Implementation Method 1
A cam-controlled knife mechanism that rotates and moves to cut tissue efficiently
Data Source
AI summary
A surgical instrument may include a knife moveable from a stowed position completely within said surgical instrument to a cutting position in which at least part of the knife is positioned outside the surgical instrument. The surgical instrument may also include at least two cam slots, a cam pin extending from the knife into the cam slots, at least two guide slots that are substantially linear and are spaced apart from said cam slots, and a guide pin extending from the knife into the guide slots. In some embodiments, the cam slots are shaped to cause the knife to move from the stowed position to the cutting position as the knife is urged proximally.