Forceps Guide Tube Layout for Compact Actuation and Damage Limiting
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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
1Adaptability or versatility
If a blade assembly is extended distally between jaws, then cutting capability is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The blade assembly is nested within the shaft structure, allowing it to be stored compactly within the existing device footprint. The blade can extend distally between the jaws when needed but returns to a retracted position within the shaft, effectively nesting the cutting function within the existing forceps structure without permanently increasing packaging space.
2Volume of moving object
If packaging space is reduced, then storage efficiency is improved, but assembly complexity may increase
Solution Approach 1:
The forceps device is divided into separate modular components including the shaft, jaw assembly, blade assembly, and actuation mechanisms. These segmented components can be manufactured independently and assembled in a controlled manner, reducing overall packaging space while maintaining manufacturability through standardized interfaces and modular construction.
3Reliability
If a force-limiting mechanism is added, then damage prevention is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
A force-limiting mechanism is incorporated into the actuation system that prevents excessive forces from being transmitted to the jaws and blade assembly. This mechanism acts as a protective element that limits the maximum force applied during tissue manipulation, preventing damage to the device components while integrating smoothly into the existing actuation architecture.
4Adaptability or versatility
If multiple end effector functions are integrated, then versatility is improved, but ease of operation may deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The end effector system incorporates dynamic actuation mechanisms that allow the jaws and blade to be controlled through a sequence of discrete movements. The actuation system enables independent control of jaw opening/closing and blade extension/retraction through separate actuation inputs, allowing the operator to perform different functions (grasping, cutting) through simple sequential operations rather than complex coordinated movements.
Data Source
AI summary
A surgical tool can include a handle, an outer tube, an end effector, an inner tube, and a guide tube. The outer tube can be connected to the handle and can extend along a longitudinal axis. The end effector can be connected to the outer tube. The inner shaft can be located within the outer tube and can extend along the longitudinal axis. The inner shaft can be connected to the end effector and the outer shaft. The handle can be operable to translate the inner shaft with respect to the outer tube to operate the end effector. The guide tube can be located within the outer tube between the handle and the end effector. The guide tube can include a conduit extending therethrough.