Circumferential Nerve Cutter with Scalpel Guide
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Solution Overview
Problem
Traditional nerve cutting tools often result in poorly aligned nerve structures and uneven cuts due to the risk of crushing or flattening, requiring multiple users and additional instruments for tensioning and cutting, which can complicate surgical procedures.
Innovation Solution
A circumferential nerve cutter that holds the nerve in tension and constrains it circumferentially to prevent flattening or crushing, allowing for precise cuts with a single user, featuring a head with a cutting slot for a scalpel blade and a ratchet and pawl mechanism for stability, along with integrated sizing guides for various nerve diameters.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Manufacturing precision
If traditional surgical scissors or scalpel with solid background are used, then the nerve can be cut, but the nerve end is crushed and cuts are uneven
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a tongue depressor as an intermediary tool between the scalpel and the nerve. The tongue depressor is placed beneath the nerve to provide a solid background that prevents the nerve from being crushed during cutting, while allowing the scalpel to make clean cuts through the nerve against this supportive surface.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent employs disposable tongue depressors as a low-cost, single-use intermediary tool that eliminates the need for expensive specialized nerve cutting instruments. The tongue depressor is discarded after a single use, ensuring sterility and preventing cross-contamination while effectively solving the crushing problem.
2Ease of operation
If tendon holding forceps are used to cut perpendicular to nerve axis, then cutting is facilitated, but forceps slide axially along the nerve
Solution Approach 1:
The patent modifies the forceps design by making the jaw asymmetric - one side is smooth to prevent crushing the nerve while the other side has a rough or textured surface that provides friction to prevent axial sliding. This asymmetric design allows the forceps to both hold the nerve securely and facilitate perpendicular cutting without sliding.
3Reliability
If multiple users are employed for tensioning and cutting, then nerve resection is performed, but surgical procedure complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines multiple functions into a single integrated nerve cutting instrument. The device merges the tensioning function (through an integrated jaw that can grip the nerve), the supporting function (through the built-in tongue depressor), and the cutting function (through the scalpel holder) into one tool that can be operated by a single surgeon, eliminating the need for multiple users and reducing procedural complexity.
Data Source
AI summary
A circumferential nerve cutter is described herein. The nerve cutter holds a nerve in tension while circumferentially constraining the side of the nerve being retained in a manner that prevents flattening or crushing. A head of the nerve cutter separates the preserved side from the portion of the nerve being cut that is being removed. The head includes a cutting slot configured to accommodate an off-the-shelf scalpel blade, while ensuring that the blade remains approximately square preventing obliquity of resultant cut. The side of the head that interfaces with the preserved side of the nerve is configured to prevent and/or inhibit the nerve from moving radially to its axis while being cut.