Electrosurgical Contact Body Through-Bore Cleaning
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Solution Overview
Problem
The existing electrosurgical handheld devices, such as resectoscopes, face difficulties in thoroughly cleaning the contact receptacle due to its small hole diameter and the presence of electrical tulip contacts, leading to residue accumulation and potential contact problems between the electrode carrier and the contact.
Innovation Solution
A contact body with continuous bores extending through the entire contact body, allowing for efficient flushing and drying, and featuring parallel receptacles for the electrical contacts, which are easily accessible and securely coupled, along with a mechanical latching mechanism and fluid seals to prevent irrigation liquid ingress.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the contact receptacle is designed as a small hole to accommodate electrical tulip contacts, then the electrical contact reliability is improved, but the cleaning accessibility and thoroughness deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The patent inverts the traditional blind hole design by creating a through-bore receptacle that extends completely through the contact body. This allows cleaning fluids to access the receptacle from both sides, enabling thorough cleaning while maintaining the same electrical contact functionality. The receptacle transitions from a closed blind hole to an open through-bore structure.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent adds a dimensional aspect to cleaning access by creating a through-bore that allows cleaning fluids to flow through the receptacle from one side to the other. This transforms the cleaning process from a single-sided surface cleaning to a multi-dimensional flow-through cleaning, ensuring complete removal of residues from all surfaces including the bottom of the receptacle.
2Device complexity
If the contact receptacle is designed as a blind hole, then the electrical contact structure is simplified, but the cleaning thoroughness and residue removal capability deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The patent inverts the blind hole concept by creating a through-bore receptacle. Instead of a closed cavity that traps residues, the receptacle now allows fluid flow through it, transforming it from a dead-end structure to an open channel that facilitates complete cleaning while maintaining structural simplicity.
3Manufacturing precision
If the contact body is made with small hole diameter receptacles, then the electrical contact precision is improved, but the cleaning efficiency and time consumption deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The patent inverts the cleaning approach by allowing fluids to flow through the receptacle rather than trying to reach into a blind hole. This through-bore design maintains precise electrical contact dimensions while transforming the cleaning process from a time-consuming manual or surface-level process to an efficient flow-through cleaning operation.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent utilizes fluid dynamics by allowing cleaning fluids to flow through the receptacle bore. This hydraulic approach enables efficient removal of residues through pressurized fluid flow, significantly improving cleaning efficiency compared to manual or surface-level cleaning methods.
4Reliability
If the electrical contacts are positioned in deep blind holes, then the electrical insulation is improved, but the cleaning accessibility and drying efficiency deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The patent inverts the deep blind hole design by creating a through-bore receptacle. This allows cleaning and drying fluids to access all internal surfaces from both sides, dramatically reducing drying time while maintaining the same electrical insulation properties through equivalent material thickness.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent adds dimensional access by allowing fluid flow through the receptacle from both sides. This transforms the drying process from a slow evaporation or single-sided drying to a rapid flow-through drying, significantly reducing drying time while maintaining insulation effectiveness.
Data Source
AI summary
An electrosurgical handheld devices, and contact bodies of electrosurgical handheld devices, prove very difficult to clean. Cleaning them is very laborious, particularly when they have bores and receptacles of small diameters. Even mechanical cleaning cannot guarantee that the necessary degree of cleaning is achieved. The invention makes available an electrosurgical handheld device and a contact body that can be cleaned particularly easily and thoroughly and in a time-efficient manner. This is achieved by the fact that the contact body for an electrosurgical handheld device has at least one receptacle that is designed as a continuous bore through the contact body.