Circular Surgical Stapling Head with Flat and Textured Zones

Solution Overview

Problem

Existing circular staplers risk damaging tissue during insertion and actuation due to tissue gripping features and snagging on colon folds, potentially causing tears and incomplete stapling.

Innovation Solution

A stapling head assembly with a deck member featuring a flat zone and tissue engagement features, including stand-off protrusions and a recessed surface, to minimize tissue damage during insertion and enhance gripping for effective stapling.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Reliability

If tissue gripping features are added to enhance stapling security, then stapling reliability is improved, but tissue damage during insertion increases

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvestapling reliabilityVSAvoidtissue damage

Core Design Contradiction:

ReliabilityVSObject-affected harmful factors

Solution Approach 1:

The deck member features a differentiated surface design with a flat zone (free of protrusions) and a textured zone (with protrusions). The flat zone contacts tissue during insertion to minimize damage, while the textured zone engages tissue during stapling to enhance grip and reliability. This local differentiation resolves the contradiction by providing different surface qualities in different functional regions.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #3Local quality

Solution Approach 2:

The flat zone on the deck member performs the preliminary action of smooth tissue contact during insertion before the stapling function is activated. This preliminary smooth contact prevents tissue damage, and only after successful insertion does the textured zone engage to provide secure gripping during stapling, thus resolving the contradiction between insertion safety and stapling reliability.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #10Preliminary action

2Reliability

If tissue gripping features are added to enhance stapling security, then tissue engagement is improved, but snagging on colon folds increases

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvetissue engagementVSAvoidsnagging

Core Design Contradiction:

ReliabilityVSObject-affected harmful factors

Solution Approach 1:

The deck member features a differentiated surface design with a flat zone (free of protrusions) and a textured zone (with protrusions). The flat zone contacts tissue during insertion to minimize damage, while the textured zone engages tissue during stapling to enhance grip and reliability. This local differentiation resolves the contradiction by providing different surface qualities in different functional regions.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #3Local quality

Solution Approach 2:

The flat zone on the deck member performs the preliminary action of smooth tissue contact during insertion before the stapling function is activated. This preliminary smooth contact prevents tissue damage, and only after successful insertion does the textured zone engage to provide secure gripping during stapling, thus resolving the contradiction between insertion safety and stapling reliability.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #10Preliminary action

3Object-affected harmful factors

If a flat zone is added to reduce tissue damage, then insertion safety is improved, but tissue gripping capability may be reduced

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvetissue damageVSAvoidtissue gripping capability

Core Design Contradiction:

Object-affected harmful factorsVSReliability

Solution Approach 1:

The deck member features a differentiated surface design with a flat zone (free of protrusions) and a textured zone (with protrusions). The flat zone contacts tissue during insertion to minimize damage, while the textured zone engages tissue during stapling to enhance grip and reliability. This local differentiation resolves the contradiction by providing different surface qualities in different functional regions.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #3Local quality

Solution Approach 2:

The flat zone on the deck member performs the preliminary action of smooth tissue contact during insertion before the stapling function is activated. This preliminary smooth contact prevents tissue damage, and only after successful insertion does the textured zone engage to provide secure gripping during stapling, thus resolving the contradiction between insertion safety and stapling reliability.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #10Preliminary action

Data Source

PatentUS12458353B2Atraumatic stapling head features for circular surgical stapler

Publication Date: 2025.11.04 CILAG GMBH INTERNATIONAL

AI summary

An apparatus includes a body, a shaft assembly, a stapling head assembly, and an anvil. The stapling head assembly includes an annular deck member, a plurality of staples, and a driver. The deck member includes a deck surface that has a curved profile defined by a curve extending from the inner diameter of the deck member to the outer diameter of the deck member. The deck member further includes an outer array of staple openings and an inner array of staple openings. The driver is operable to drive the staples through the staple openings. The anvil is operable to compress tissue against the first deck surface.