Reconfigurable Cardiac Stabilizer With Collapsible Suction Arms
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing stabilization tools for minimally invasive cardiac surgery, particularly for total endoscopic coronary artery bypass, face challenges in inserting through small incisions and providing effective stabilization of the heart during beating without requiring a heart-lung bypass machine.
Innovation Solution
A reconfigurable, elongated tool with a suction holding mechanism, featuring an articulating hub and pivotable suction arms, allows insertion through small incisions and provides stable adherence to the heart surface via vacuum pressure, enabling precise stabilization during robotic surgery.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a stabilization tool is designed with suction capability to effectively stabilize the beating heart, then the stabilization effectiveness is improved, but the tool cannot be inserted through the small incisions used in TECAB
Solution Approach 1:
The stabilizer is divided into multiple segments including a support tube, articulating hub, and collapsible suction arms that can be inserted separately through small incisions and then assembled inside the body cavity
Solution Approach 2:
The suction arms are designed to collapse and nest within the support tube during insertion, similar to nested dolls, allowing the entire stabilizer assembly to pass through small 12mm incisions before deployment
2Strength
If the stabilizer tool is made sufficiently rigid to restrain beating movements of the heart, then the stabilization capability is improved, but the tool cannot be inserted through small holes
Solution Approach 1:
The suction arms transition from a collapsed flexible state during insertion to an expanded rigid state during operation, allowing the tool to be both insertable through small holes and sufficiently rigid to restrain heart movements
Solution Approach 2:
The suction arms are constructed with flexible materials that allow collapse for insertion through small incisions, then expand to provide rigid stabilization and suction adhesion to the beating heart surface
3Length of moving object
If the suction arms are made collapsible to enable insertion through small incisions, then the insertability is improved, but the structural complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The stabilizer is divided into modular segments (support tube, articulating hub, suction arms) that can be inserted separately and assembled inside the body, reducing the insertion profile while managing structural complexity through modularity
Solution Approach 2:
The articulating hub serves as an intermediary component that connects the support tube to the collapsible suction arms, providing a pivot point that enables both insertion and stabilization functions
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 effective stabilization of the heart during beating, facilitating minimally invasive procedures without a heart-lung bypass machine, by ensuring secure attachment and maneuverability through small incisions.
Implementation Method 1
The suction arms are configured to attach to a source of vacuum pressure. The suction arms are configured to adhere to a tissue surface of the patient when receiving the vacuum pressure.
Data Source
AI summary
A reconfigurable tool carries suction pods adapted for robotic surgery wherein a distal end with the suction pods is insertable through a small port incised in a living body to reach a working space for performing cardiac repairs. The tool has an articulating hub with a base part and a sliding part, wherein the suction pods pivot from the sliding part. The base part has a keyed surface configured to interlock with a keyed surface of the pods. A pullcord for retracting the suction pods toward a support tube of the tool has a loosened state wherein the first and second keyed surfaces can be spaced apart so that the suction pods can be spread for grasping a tissue to be stabilized at desired locations. The pullcord has a tightened state wherein the first and second keyed surfaces are interlocked so that the suction pods are inhibited from pivoting.