Surgical Clip Advancer Guide Channel Alignment
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing surgical clip appliers face issues with misalignment and improper feeding of clips due to angled jaws, leading to malformed clips and inefficiencies in the advancer mechanism.
Innovation Solution
A surgical clip applier with a guide member featuring a channel and a ramped surface to align and advance clips correctly, ensuring the distal tip maintains contact with the clip apex and prevents lateral movement, combined with a method for actuating the advancer to position the clip properly within the jaws.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Illumination intensity
If the jaws are angled with respect to the shaft for better visibility, then the visibility and accessibility of the surgical site is improved, but the alignment between the advancer mechanism and the clip deteriorates, leading to improper feeding and malformed clips
Solution Approach 1:
A guide member is introduced as an intermediary component between the advancer mechanism and the angled jaws. The guide member includes a channel that receives the distal tip of the advancer and a ramped surface that guides the clip from the advancer to the jaws, mediating the transition and ensuring proper alignment despite the angular relationship between components
Solution Approach 2:
The guide member adds a dimensional element by extending beyond the shaft centerline in a direction perpendicular to both the shaft axis and the jaw opening direction. This creates a three-dimensional pathway that accommodates the angular relationship while maintaining proper clip alignment through the ramped surface geometry
2Productivity
If the advancer mechanism is positioned to advance clips into the jaws, then the clip advancement function is achieved, but the advancer fails to engage the next clip properly, resulting in feeding failures
Solution Approach 1:
The engagement mechanism is replaced from direct mechanical contact between the advancer and clip to contactless magnetic field interaction. The distal tip of the advancer includes a magnet that magnetically engages the ferromagnetic clip, allowing reliable engagement and advancement without physical contact issues
Solution Approach 2:
The distal tip of the advancer is designed with specific dimensional parameters (width greater than channel depth) that allow it to deflect within the guide member channel while maintaining magnetic engagement with the clip. This parameter configuration ensures reliable clip advancement through the angled pathway
3Manufacturing precision
If the distal tip of the advancer is positioned to contact the clip apex, then the clip alignment is improved, but the distal tip may deflect away from the clip during advancer movement, causing loss of contact
Solution Approach 1:
The guide member channel acts as an intermediary constraint that physically guides the distal tip of the advancer. The channel receives and constrains the distal tip, preventing excessive deflection while allowing the magnetic field to maintain contactless engagement with the clip apex throughout the advancement motion
Solution Approach 2:
The distal tip is designed with flexible properties allowing it to deflect within the guide member channel while maintaining engagement. The flexibility enables the distal tip to accommodate movement variations while the guide member channel provides lateral constraints to maintain stable alignment
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
The solution ensures precise alignment and proper formation of surgical clips, reducing malformation and improving the efficiency of clip application, enhancing surgical precision and reliability.
Implementation Method 1
The distal tip can have a magnet disposed therein and the magnet can be configured to engage a surgical clip to advance the surgical clip into the opposed jaws
Data Source
Figure 1A
Figure 1B
Figure 2A~2D
AI summary
A surgical clip applier and methods for applying surgical clips to a vessel, duct, shunt, etc., during a surgical procedure are provided. In one embodiment, a surgical clip applier is provided and can include a shaft having a proximal end and a distal end with opposed jaws thereon, a guide member disposed within the shaft and configured to guide a clip into the opposed jaws, the guide member having a channel formed in a surface thereof, and an advancer movably disposed within the shaft and configured to advance a clip over the guide member and into the opposed jaws, the advancer having a distal tip that slidably engages the channel for maintaining contact with a surgical clip as it is advanced into the opposed jaws. In other embodiments, the guide member can also include a proximal channel formed in a superior surface thereof. The advancer can be configured to deflect downward into the proximal channel to move proximally beneath an inferior surface of the apex of the clip to position itself proximally to the clip to advance the clip into the opposed jaws.