Disposable Rongeur With Molded Interlock Mechanism
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Current rongeur designs face issues such as high costs, limited sharpening cycles, non-ideal handling due to dull tips, difficulty in cleaning, potential for tissue residue transfer, discomfort leading to conditions like carpal tunnel syndrome, and loose screws falling into the operative site.
Innovation Solution
A disposable rongeur design combining metal and plastic materials, featuring a unique interlock mechanism, ergonomic handle, and a spring-loaded lever for efficient tissue cutting and removal, with a fixed, permanent connection to prevent loose parts and enhance ergonomics.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If reusable kerrison rongeurs are used to reduce costs, then manufacturing cost is reduced, but the device can only be sharpened a limited number of times and requires complex cleaning and sterilization processes
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements a disposable rongeur design where the entire device or replaceable components are discarded after a single use or limited uses. This eliminates the need for repeated sharpening and complex sterilization processes, while maintaining consistent cutting performance throughout the device's service life. The disposable nature ensures no tissue residue transfer between patients and eliminates prion disease risks.
Solution Approach 2:
The rongeur is divided into separable components including a handle portion, shaft portion, and operable portion that can be independently replaced. This segmentation allows the cutting elements to be replaced without discarding the entire device, reducing waste while maintaining reliability. The modular design also simplifies sterilization processes for reusable portions.
2Strength
If the footplate is made thick to reduce bending or breaking, then structural strength is improved, but surgeons may press the footplate toward the spinal cord or nerve root leading to post-operative pain and spasms
Solution Approach 1:
The footplate is designed with non-uniform thickness distribution, featuring a thinner distal end for safety near neural structures and a thicker proximal end for structural strength. This local variation in geometry allows the device to maintain overall structural integrity while minimizing the risk of pressing on the spinal cord or nerve roots during surgical operations.
3Device complexity
If small screws are used on the shaft and handle to hold them in place, then device complexity is reduced, but the screws can come loose and fall into the operative site
Solution Approach 1:
The patent integrates the shaft and handle portions into a single monolithic structure formed from a single piece of material, eliminating the need for separate fastening screws. This merging of components reduces device complexity by removing small fasteners that could loosen, while simultaneously improving reliability by preventing any parts from becoming loose or falling into the operative site.
4Ease of operation
If a take-apart design is used to make cleaning easier and more complete, then ease of operation is improved, but hospital personnel must accomplish proper and complete disassembly which adds process complexity
Solution Approach 1:
The rongeur is designed as a disposable single-use device that requires no disassembly for cleaning or sterilization. The entire device is discarded after one use, which simplifies the workflow by eliminating the need for complex disassembly and reassembly processes by hospital personnel, while ensuring complete elimination of tissue residue and prion disease risks.
Data Source
AI summary
A rongeur including a base, which includes a handle portion, a body portion and a shaft portion. The shaft portion is made of a metal material and includes a male mold-on interlock portion configured to non-removably interlock with an over-molded plastic material. The body portion is made of plastic material and includes an over-mold interlock portion that is over-molded onto and non-removably fixed onto the mold-on interlock portion of the shaft portion. A slide shaft of the rongeur includes a distal portion and a proximal portion. The distal portion is made of a metal material and includes a male mold-on interlock portion configured to non-removably interlock with an over-molded plastic material. The proximal portion is made of a plastic material and includes an over-mold interlock portion that is over-molded onto and non-removably fixed onto the mold-on interlock portion of the distal portion.