Flexible Tip Anvil for Vascular Anastomosis
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Solution Overview
Problem
Surgical staplers used for vascular anastomosis face challenges in accurately locating and inserting the anvil through a small incision in the target vessel, especially during beating-heart surgery, due to the blunt distal end of the anvil, which can make it difficult to navigate and prevent inadvertent damage to the vessel wall.
Innovation Solution
A surgical tool with a flexible tip that extends from the anvil, allowing for easier insertion and deformation, featuring a spirally wound coil or a solid flexible substance, which can be tapered and deflectable, and optionally includes a central core that can penetrate tissue and retract, or a tissue stop to prevent further insertion and protect the vessel wall.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the anvil has a blunt distal end to prevent inadvertent damage to the vessel wall, then safety is improved, but the ability to locate and insert the anvil through a small incision deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The anvil is segmented into two functional parts: a blunt distal end for safety and a flexible tip for insertion. The flexible tip can be deflected to facilitate navigation through the incision, while the blunt distal end remains to prevent vessel wall damage upon insertion.
Solution Approach 2:
The physical properties of the tip are changed by making it flexible rather than rigid. This allows the tip to deflect and bend during insertion, improving ease of operation, while the blunt distal end maintains its original safety function.
2Object-affected harmful factors
If the incision in the vessel wall is made small to minimize trauma, then patient safety is improved, but the ability to locate and insert the anvil deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The anvil's flexible tip acts as a separate functional element that can be deflected to navigate through small incisions. This segmentation allows the incision to remain small for patient safety while the flexible tip provides the necessary maneuverability for insertion.
Solution Approach 2:
By changing the physical parameter of the tip from rigid to flexible, the anvil can pass through smaller incisions without requiring larger cuts, thus minimizing vessel wall trauma while maintaining ease of insertion.
3Strength
If the anvil tip is made rigid to maintain structural integrity, then strength is improved, but the ability to deflect and navigate through small incisions deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The anvil is divided into a rigid main body for structural integrity and a flexible tip for navigation. This segmentation allows each part to optimize its properties: the main body remains strong while the tip becomes flexible for easy deflection and insertion.
Solution Approach 2:
Different parts of the anvil have different mechanical properties: the main body is rigid for strength, while the tip is flexible for navigation. This local quality differentiation resolves the contradiction between structural integrity and ease of movement.
4Ease of operation
If the flexible tip is made more flexible to improve insertion ease, then ease of operation is improved, but the risk of excessive incision expansion deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The flexibility of the tip is optimized to a specific parameter range that allows sufficient deflection for easy insertion through small incisions, while the blunt distal end provides a stopping mechanism to prevent excessive incision expansion.
Solution Approach 2:
The blunt distal end acts as a preliminary anti-action mechanism that prevents the flexible tip from expanding the incision excessively, counterbalancing the potential harm caused by tip flexibility.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
Enables easier and more precise insertion of the anvil into the vessel lumen, reducing the risk of damage and improving the convenience of the procedure, particularly in coronary artery surgeries, by allowing the flexible tip to expand the incision if necessary and ensuring the anvil can be positioned accurately without expanding the incision excessively.
Implementation Method 1
The flexible tip 4 is characterized as flexible because at least the distal end of the flexible tip 4 is deflectable away from the initial centerline of the flexible tip 4
Implementation Method 2
A segment of wire 6 is spirally wound about the centerline of the flexible tip 4, forming a coil 8
Data Source
AI summary
A tool for treating tissue in conjunction with one or more connectors may include an anvil against which at least one connector is urged, and a flexible tip extending from the distal end of said anvil. At least one connector may be held by a connector holder that is pivotally connected to the anvil. The anvil may be used to treat tissue by making an incision in the wall of the blood vessel, inserting the flexible tip and at least a portion of the anvil through the incision into the lumen of the blood vessel, and deforming at least one connector, introduced from outside the wall of the blood vessel, against the portion of the anvil that is located within the lumen of the blood vessel.