Surgical Clip Applier Control System Motor Feedback
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current electrically-powered surgical devices lack control and tactile feedback, leading to reduced situational awareness for surgeons, potential device and patient damage due to motor stalls, and inability to accommodate changing loads, which can result in time-intensive extra operations.
Innovation Solution
A control system for surgical clip appliers that includes a drive assembly with predetermined thresholds for motor load and velocity, allowing for staged clip formation and clip stability testing to ensure proper engagement with tissue, thereby preventing excessive force and maintaining device stability.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If electrically-powered devices are used to automate surgical procedures, then productivity and precision are improved, but control and tactile feedback are lost leading to reduced situational awareness
Solution Approach 1:
The control system monitors motor load, velocity, and position in real-time and provides feedback to the user interface. The system displays operational status, clip formation progress, and tissue engagement feedback, allowing surgeons to maintain situational awareness while using automated devices. Force sensors detect tissue properties and provide tactile feedback through the control interface.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces manual mechanical operation with an electrically-powered motorized system that uses sensors and control algorithms to detect and respond to tissue properties. The motorized drive assembly substitutes for manual manipulation while maintaining control through electronic feedback loops that monitor current, velocity, and position.
2Force
If motor power is increased to ensure adequate force for all surgical tasks, then force capability is improved, but device complexity and risk of damage increase
Solution Approach 1:
The control system dynamically adjusts motor power output based on real-time feedback from force sensors and current monitoring. The system modulates motor torque to match the actual force requirements of the surgical task, using staged clip formation with variable force application. This allows adequate force capability without requiring oversized motors, reducing device complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The system changes operational parameters such as motor voltage, current, and velocity based on the surgical stage and tissue properties detected by sensors. The control algorithm adjusts power delivery parameters in real-time to optimize force application while preventing excessive force that could cause damage, thereby managing device complexity through adaptive parameter control.
3Reliability
If continuous monitoring and staged formation processes are implemented, then reliability and safety are improved, but operation time and complexity increase
Solution Approach 1:
The control system performs preliminary assessments of tissue properties using force sensors before initiating clip formation. The system pre-configures the staged formation process based on detected tissue characteristics, preparing appropriate force profiles and velocity settings in advance. This preliminary action ensures safety without requiring time-consuming adjustments during the actual clipping operation.
Solution Approach 2:
The clip formation process is divided into periodic stages with monitoring checkpoints. The system applies force in controlled increments with intermediate assessments of tissue engagement and clip formation progress. This periodic action ensures reliability through continuous monitoring while maintaining efficiency by using standardized stage durations and automated transitions between phases.
Data Source
AI summary
Controls systems and methods are provided for controlling a surgical clip applier for applying surgical clips to a vessel, duct, shunt, etc., during a surgical procedure are provided. In an exemplary embodiment, a control system is provided for controlling at least one motor coupled to a drive system on a surgical clip applier device for driving one or more drive assemblies and thereby actuating one or more actuation assemblies. The control system can be configured to communicate with the drive system of the clip applier tool and to control and modify movement of one or more drive assemblies and actuation assemblies based on certain feedback.