Flexible Surgical Stencil Strap for Precise Incision Marking
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current methods for marking incision guides during surgeries, such as using flimsy rulers or suture strings, are prone to errors, leading to misaligned cuts and potential wound complications.
Innovation Solution
The use of flexible straps with multiple openings and fasteners to accurately mark incision guides, ensuring similar lengths of skin segments for efficient wound closure.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If flimsy rulers or suture strings are used to mark incision guides, then the marking process is simple and quick, but the marking precision is poor leading to misaligned cuts
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs a flexible strap made of flexible material that can conform to body contours while maintaining dimensional accuracy. The strap includes a flexible ruler component that allows precise marking along curved surfaces, resolving the contradiction between simplicity and precision by providing a flexible yet accurate marking tool that adapts to anatomical shapes.
Solution Approach 2:
The flexible strap is divided into multiple segments or zones with different functions: a rigid ruler portion for measurement, flexible portions for contouring, and marking areas. This segmentation allows each part to perform its specific function optimally while maintaining overall device simplicity and portability.
2Manufacturing precision
If free-hand marking is used, then the marking process is fast, but the consistency and accuracy of incision guide lengths deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The flexible strap incorporates self-aligning features such as reference marks, colored indicators, or pre-measured sections that automatically ensure consistent length when positioned correctly on the body. The strap's flexibility allows it to self-adjust to contour variations while maintaining measurement accuracy, enabling consistent marking without requiring complex alignment procedures.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent utilizes visual parameters such as colored bands, numbered markers, or contrasting patterns on the flexible strap to indicate measurement references and alignment points. These visual parameters allow surgeons to quickly identify correct positioning and maintain consistent incision guide lengths while working at high speed.
3Reliability
If inaccurate marking methods are used, then the surgical procedure can be completed quickly, but post-surgery wound complications increase
Solution Approach 1:
The flexible strap enables preliminary accurate marking of incision guides with consistent lengths before the actual surgical cutting begins. By pre-establishing precise reference points and measurement guides on the strap, the surgeon can quickly transfer this precision to the patient's body during surgery, ensuring reliable wound closure without extending operative time.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces imprecise mechanical marking methods (free-hand drawing, flimsy rulers) with a flexible strap system that combines the flexibility needed for body contouring with rigid measurement capabilities. This substitution provides reliable marking that ensures consistent incision lengths while maintaining surgical efficiency.
Data Source
AI summary
A kit can comprise a flexible strap that extends between opposing first and second ends and has opposing upper and lower surfaces. The strap can have a plurality of openings that each extend through the strap from the upper surface to the lower surface, wherein the openings include a plurality of intermediate openings that are each disposed closer to the first end of the strap than is at least one other of the openings and closer to the second end of the strap than is at least one other of the openings. A length of the strap can be at least 20 times each of a thickness and a width of the strap. The strap can be sterile, and the kit can comprise a container that is sealed and contains the strap.