Disposable Planetary Speed Reduction Assembly for Safer Surgical Tools
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Solution Overview
Problem
Medical tools operating at high speeds pose risks during procedures, and maintaining and sterilizing speed-reduced powered tools adds to healthcare costs due to the need for carefully controlled speed and sterilization.
Innovation Solution
Integrated rotational speed reduction assemblies with a shaft assembly, housing, and planetary gears, allowing for controlled speed reduction through engagement between a sun gear, planetary gears, and a gear ring, enabling the use of disposable tools that fail after a predetermined number of cycles, reducing contamination risks and costs.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If high-speed rotational tools are used, then productivity and cutting efficiency are improved, but procedural risks and contamination risks increase
Solution Approach 1:
A speed reduction assembly with planetary gears is introduced as an intermediary mechanism between the high-speed motor and the resection tool. The planetary gears reduce the rotational speed from the motor while maintaining torque, allowing the tool to operate at controlled lower speeds during medical procedures, thereby reducing procedural risks while preserving cutting efficiency.
Solution Approach 2:
The system is segmented into distinct functional components: a high-speed motor unit and a separate speed reduction assembly with planetary gears. This segmentation allows the motor to operate at optimal high speeds for efficiency while the gear assembly provides controlled speed reduction, separating the productivity function from the safety control function.
2Productivity
If speed-reduced powered tools are reused, then productivity and cost-effectiveness are improved, but sterilization costs and infection risks increase
Solution Approach 1:
The entire powered resection tool including the speed reduction assembly is designed as a disposable single-use device. After one use, the entire assembly is discarded rather than sterilized and reused. This eliminates infection risks associated with sterilization while maintaining cost-effectiveness through integrated manufacturing of the disposable unit.
3Object-affected harmful factors
If sterilization processes are applied to speed-reduced tools, then infection risks are reduced, but maintenance costs and device complexity increase
Solution Approach 1:
The powered resection tool with speed reduction assembly is designed as a disposable device that is discarded after single use, eliminating the need for sterilization processes and associated maintenance complexity. The low cost of the disposable unit makes this economically viable compared to reusable alternatives requiring sterilization infrastructure.
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 effectively reduces rotational speed, minimizing procedural risks and healthcare costs by ensuring tools are single-use and sterilizable, thereby reducing the risk of infection and contamination.
Implementation Method 1
engagement between a sun gear, planetary gears, and a gear ring
Implementation Method 2
a plurality of planetary gears each having a plurality of gear teeth
Data Source
AI summary
A single use integrated disposable rotational speed reduction assembly having a shaft assembly, a housing, an output assembly, and a plurality of planetary gears each having a plurality of gear teeth. The shaft assembly is configured to cause rotation of the planetary gears with a sun gear. The rotation of the planetary gears is configured to cause rotation of an output shaft, with a reduction of rotational speed relative to the rotation of the shaft assembly. One or more gear components or spacers can be configured to fail after a predetermined number of use cycles.