Endoscopic Hook Blade for Precise Tissue Cutting
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Solution Overview
Problem
Endoscopic surgery faces challenges in cutting tissues due to the proximity of target tissues to other tissues or organs, lack of tissue tension, and the flexibility of tissues, making it impractical to use blades that require forward pushing through a cannula.
Innovation Solution
A low-profile hook blade design with cutting surfaces on the trailing edge and a downward-angled main body, allowing the blade to be inserted through a cannula and drawn back to engage the tissue without requiring mechanical extension, reducing the risk of damage to surrounding tissues and allowing direct visualization.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a conventional blade design requiring forward pushing through a cannula is used, then the blade can engage tissue, but the risk of damage to surrounding tissues increases due to lack of control and precision
Solution Approach 1:
The blade design inverts the conventional pushing motion by using a hook configuration that allows the blade to be inserted and then drawn back. The hook shape enables the blade to engage tissue and then retract, providing control and precision while reducing damage to surrounding tissues through the ability to stop and reposition.
Solution Approach 2:
The blade incorporates a hook configuration that enables dynamic movement - the blade can be advanced to engage tissue and then retracted for precise control. This dynamic capability allows the surgeon to control the cutting process in real-time, adjusting the blade position and engagement level to minimize damage to surrounding structures.
2Length of moving object
If additional moving parts are added to extend the blade mechanically, then the blade reach is improved, but the device complexity increases and the risk of malfunction increases
Solution Approach 1:
The blade is designed as a single integrated piece with the hook configuration built into its structure. The hook shape itself provides the necessary reach and engagement capability without requiring separate extending mechanisms. This segmentation-free design reduces complexity while maintaining adequate blade reach for the surgical application.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention extracts the extending mechanism requirement by using the hook configuration itself to provide the necessary reach. The hook shape allows the blade to engage tissue at an effective distance without requiring additional moving parts or extension mechanisms, thereby simplifying the overall device structure.
3Manufacturing precision
If the blade is designed with cutting surfaces on the trailing edge, then the cutting precision is improved, but the engagement force required may increase
Solution Approach 1:
The blade design places cutting surfaces on the trailing edge rather than the leading edge, inverting the conventional approach. This allows the blade to engage tissue and then cut as it retracts, providing precise cutting while the hook configuration maintains effective engagement force through the curved geometry that leverages the retraction motion.
Solution Approach 2:
The hook configuration incorporates curved geometry that optimizes both cutting precision and engagement force. The curved shape of the hook allows for smooth engagement and retraction movements, distributing forces more effectively than a straight blade design, thereby maintaining precision while reducing the peak forces required.
Data Source
AI summary
An endoscopic surgical blade is disclosed. The blade is of a hook design, having an upper cutting surface located on the trailing edge of an arm and a lower cutting surface on the upper edge of the main body of the blade. The blade is part of an endoscopic knife assembly which also contains a knife tube and alignment ring. The endoscopic knife assembly is for use in endoscopic surgery by insertion of the assembly through a slotted cannula. The knife tube is hollow and allows the insertion of an endoscope for viewing of the surgical procedure. A method for a performing an operative procedure on a target tissue in a subject using an endoscopic knife assembly having a hook blade is also described.