Forceps Drive Shaft with Force-Limiting Jaw Actuation
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional medical devices, such as forceps, face challenges in reducing packaging space, simplifying design and manufacturing, improving user experience, increasing stability, and preventing damage during use.
Innovation Solution
The development of a medical device with a handpiece that includes an actuation system allowing for the control of end effectors to be rotatable, openable, closeable, extendable, and capable of supplying electromagnetic energy, featuring a drive shaft motion transfer assembly with a force-limiting mechanism to prevent damage and improve user interaction.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a force-limiting mechanism is added to the drive shaft, then reliability is improved by preventing damage, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The force-limiting mechanism includes a spring element that is pre-compressed between a drive body and a stop. This spring acts as a cushion that absorbs excess force before it can transmit to the blade assembly, preventing damage while maintaining a relatively simple overall structure. The mechanism is built into the drive shaft assembly during manufacturing.
Solution Approach 2:
The spring element serves as an intermediary between the drive body and the blade assembly. It mediates the force transmission by allowing controlled compression that limits the maximum force reaching the blade, thereby protecting the blade from excessive forces while maintaining smooth operation during normal use.
2Ease of manufacture
If the drive shaft structure is simplified, then ease of manufacture is improved, but reliability may worsen due to potential damage
Solution Approach 1:
The force-limiting mechanism is merged with the drive shaft assembly itself rather than being a separate component. The spring is positioned within the drive body, and the mechanism integrates with existing drive shaft components, allowing simplified manufacturing while maintaining reliability through the embedded force-limiting function.
3Volume of moving object
If packaging space is reduced, then device compactness is improved, but manufacturing precision requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The force-limiting spring and associated components are nested within the existing drive shaft housing and drive body structure. The spring fits within the drive body cavity, and all components are contained within the existing outer dimensions of the drive shaft assembly, reducing packaging space while using standard manufacturing tolerances.
Data Source
AI summary
Surgical forceps can include a drive pin an outer tube, a first jaw, a second jaw, and an inner tube. The outer tube can define a longitudinal axis. The first jaw can be pivotably connected to the outer tube. The first jaw can include a pair of flanges located at a proximal portion of the first jaw, where each flange can include a track receiving the drive pin. The inner tube can be located within the outer tube and can extend along the longitudinal axis. The inner tube can include a pair of arms extending from a distal portion of the inner tube. The drive pin can be securable to the pair of arms. The inner tube can be translatable within the outer tube to drive the drive pin along the tracks to move the second jaw between open and closed positions.