Cannula Cap With Side Slot and Hinged Dam
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing cannula systems face challenges in allowing surgical instruments to access body cavities efficiently due to obstructive seals, which restrict tool access and complicate suture management during surgery.
Innovation Solution
A cannula system with a removably coupled cap that includes a side slot and sealing elements, allowing surgical instruments and sutures to pass through while maintaining a seal, and enabling quick opening and closing without repositioning sutures, using a hinge or attachment mechanism for easy handling.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If seals are added to the cannula to maintain pressure, then pressure integrity is improved, but access to surgical tools is restricted because the seals obstruct part or all of the cannula
Solution Approach 1:
The cannula system is divided into separate functional components: a seal assembly that maintains pressure integrity and a removable dam assembly that provides tool access. The seal assembly includes a seal member and a dam member that can be independently positioned, allowing the seal to maintain pressure while the dam can be removed to access surgical tools without compromising the seal's pressure-maintaining function.
Solution Approach 2:
The dam member is designed to be movable between a retracted position (where it maintains the seal and pressure integrity) and an extended position (where it opens to allow tool access). This dynamic positioning allows the same component to serve both sealing and access functions at different times during the surgical procedure.
2Ease of operation
If removable dams are used to provide access, then tool access is improved, but insertion and placement cause problems that lose time and effort during surgery
Solution Approach 1:
The dam member is pre-positioned within the seal assembly in a retracted state before the surgical procedure begins. This preliminary positioning eliminates the need for time-consuming insertion and placement operations during surgery, as the dam is already in place and can be quickly moved between retracted and extended positions as needed.
Solution Approach 2:
The dam member is merged with the seal assembly as an integrated component rather than a separate element. This combination ensures that the dam maintains proper sealing relationships when retracted and provides stable, predictable behavior when extended, reducing the time and effort required for operation while maintaining both sealing integrity and tool access capability.
3Ease of operation
If sutures extend from body cavity through cannula, then suture access is improved, but introducing a removable dam would either pinch the sutures or require introducing sutures through an opening in the dam, causing loss of time and effort
Solution Approach 1:
The dam member is pre-positioned in a retracted state that does not interfere with sutures extending through the cannula. This preliminary positioning allows sutures to be introduced and managed without requiring time-consuming adjustments or repositioning operations during the surgical procedure.
Solution Approach 2:
The dam member can dynamically transition between a retracted position (where it allows free suture passage without pinching) and an extended position (where it provides tool access). This dynamic behavior eliminates the need for surgeons to manually manipulate sutures around dams or create openings in dams, significantly reducing surgical time and effort.
Data Source
AI summary
Various devices, systems, and methods are provided for allowing surgical instruments to access a body cavity through an access device, such as a cannula. In one embodiment, a cap can be removably and replaceably coupled to a proximal end of cannula and can have an opening therethrough that communicates with an inner passageway of the cannula. Various surgical elements can be passed through the cap and cannula and into a patient when the cannula is positioned within the patient. The cap can have a side slot formed therein. The slot can be configured to allow surgical elements, such as sutures, to pass through the cap and into the cannula. At least one surgical seal can be in the cap and can be configured to receive surgical elements therethrough.