Forceps With Angled Integrated Blade for Suture Management
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional gripping instruments, such as forceps and tweezers, require the use of separate instruments for gripping and cutting, which can be inconvenient and inefficient, especially in medical procedures like suture attachment and removal.
Innovation Solution
Integration of a blade on the gripping instrument, oriented at an angle non-parallel to the gripping direction, allowing for both gripping and cutting operations without releasing the instrument from its initial orientation, enabling simultaneous use of gripping and cutting functions.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If separate instruments (forceps and scissors) are used for gripping and cutting, then each instrument can be optimized for its specific function, but the procedure requires multiple instruments and increases operational complexity
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines a cutting blade with forceps by integrating the blade onto one of the forceps arms. The blade is positioned and oriented so that it does not interfere with the gripping function of the forceps tips, allowing both gripping and cutting functions to coexist in a single instrument.
Solution Approach 2:
The forceps instrument is designed to perform multiple functions: gripping objects with the tips and cutting objects with the integrated blade. This multi-functional design eliminates the need to switch between separate gripping and cutting instruments during medical procedures.
2Reliability
If separate instruments are used for gripping and cutting, then each instrument can be specialized, but the procedure time increases due to switching between instruments
Solution Approach 1:
The cutting blade is integrated onto the forceps arm, allowing the user to perform cutting operations without releasing or repositioning the forceps. The blade is positioned such that cutting can be performed while maintaining the gripping function, eliminating time loss from instrument switching.
Solution Approach 2:
The forceps can maintain continuous gripping action while the integrated blade performs cutting operations. The user does not need to release the forceps or switch instruments, allowing useful action to continue uninterrupted during suture management procedures.
3Adaptability or versatility
If a blade is added to the gripping instrument, then cutting function is integrated, but the instrument structure becomes more complex
Solution Approach 1:
The blade is integrated only at a specific location on the forceps arm where it does not interfere with the gripping tips. The blade is oriented at an angle non-parallel to the gripping direction, ensuring that cutting and gripping functions operate independently without structural interference.
Solution Approach 2:
The blade is oriented in a different dimensional plane than the gripping action. By positioning the blade at an angle non-parallel to the gripping direction, the cutting function operates in a different spatial dimension, minimizing structural complexity while maintaining both functions.
4Productivity
If the blade is oriented parallel to the gripping direction, then cutting is efficient, but the blade interferes with the gripping function
Solution Approach 1:
The blade is oriented at an asymmetric angle non-parallel to the gripping direction. This asymmetric orientation allows the blade to perform cutting operations while preventing interference with the symmetric gripping action of the forceps tips, resolving the conflict between cutting efficiency and gripping functionality.
Solution Approach 2:
The blade is positioned and oriented locally on the forceps arm such that its cutting edge is angled away from the gripping direction. This local positioning ensures that cutting efficiency is maintained while the gripping function operates independently without interference.
Data Source
AI summary
An apparatus includes a gripping instrument that includes a first arm and a second arm disposed opposite the first arm. The first arm and the second arm are joined at a joint, where an end of the first arm opposite the joint is configured to move towards an end of the second arm opposite the joint in a gripping direction. The apparatus further includes a blade disposed on the first arm, where the blade is oriented at an angle that is non-parallel to the gripping direction.