Dual-Locator Surgical Instrument for Flexible Shaft Positioning
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional position detection systems inaccurately determine the position of surgical instruments with flexible shafts due to bending, and single-use instruments with integrated locators incur high costs.
Innovation Solution
A surgical instrument with a first locator at the handle and a second, smaller locator closer to the tip, detecting fewer degrees of freedom, allows for accurate determination of the work point by accounting for bending, and reduces costs by minimizing the need for additional registration and disposal of expensive locators.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If a single locator is used in single-use surgical instruments, then cost is reduced, but positional accuracy deteriorates due to inability to account for shaft bending
Solution Approach 1:
The surgical instrument is divided into multiple sections with locators placed at different positions (proximal locator near handle, distal locator near tip). This segmentation allows the system to detect and compensate for shaft bending by comparing positional data from multiple locators, thereby maintaining measurement precision while using simpler single-use instruments.
Solution Approach 2:
The distal locator acts as an intermediary element that provides reference data for calculating shaft deformation. By placing a locator closer to the work point, the system can use this intermediate measurement to determine bending characteristics and compensate for positional inaccuracies, resolving the contradiction between simplified instrument design and measurement accuracy.
2Measurement precision
If a locator is placed close to the work point to improve accuracy, then positional determination improves, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of using one complex 6-DOF locator at the tip, the system segments the localization function across multiple simpler locators. The distal locator detects fewer degrees of freedom (5 DOF) and is positioned close to the work point, while the proximal locator provides additional reference. This segmentation achieves high positional accuracy without requiring each individual locator to be complex.
Solution Approach 2:
The locator near the work point is designed with local quality appropriate for its specific function - it detects 5 degrees of freedom rather than all 6, which is sufficient for its local positioning task. This localized optimization reduces device complexity at the critical location while maintaining overall measurement precision through coordination with the proximal locator.
3Measurement precision
If multiple locators are used to detect bending, then positional accuracy improves, but cost increases due to additional components
Solution Approach 1:
The localization function is segmented across two locators with different capabilities. The proximal locator handles 6 DOF detection for overall instrument positioning, while the distal locator handles 5 DOF detection for local tip positioning and bending calculation. This segmentation achieves accurate bending detection without requiring multiple full-featured 6-DOF locators, thereby controlling manufacturing costs.
Solution Approach 2:
The surgical instrument is designed as a disposable single-use instrument with integrated locators. By optimizing the locator configuration to use two locators rather than one complex locator, the system achieves accurate bending detection within the constraints of disposable instrument cost structures. The locators are designed to be cost-effective for single-use applications.
Data Source
AI summary
The invention relates to a surgical instrument with an instrument handle, an instrument shank connected to the instrument handle, an instrument tip with a work point, which instrument tip is connected to the instrument shank, and a first locator arranged on the instrument handle or the instrument shank. During a use of the surgical instrument, the instrument shank can be deflected, e.g. on account of transverse forces, at least between the first locator and the work point. A second locator is arranged at a distance from the first locator and, by comparison with the latter, closer to the work point, wherein the second locator is designed to detect five degrees of freedom.