Fractional Handpiece Assembly for Swift Disposable Applicator Exchange
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional medical handpieces face challenges in ergonomic packaging and cost-effective design for disposable applicator tips that require swift exchange, particularly in medical procedures involving laser treatment with water spray, mist, or vapor.
Innovation Solution
A handpiece assembly with integrated fluid lines, a spray mixer, and an air input port, along with a disposable applicator featuring a weakened coupler or clip structure for easy detachment, and a GUI display for controlling parameters, facilitates efficient and user-friendly operation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If disposable applicator tips are designed for swift exchange, then ease of operation is improved, but device complexity increases due to integrated fluid lines and coupler structures
Solution Approach 1:
The handpiece system is divided into reusable components (handpiece housing, fluid lines, spray mixer) and disposable components (applicator tip, coupler, clip). This segmentation allows the disposable applicator to be quickly exchanged without replacing the complex fluid delivery infrastructure, resolving the contradiction between exchange speed and structural complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The disposable applicator tip and coupler are extracted as a separate removable unit from the handpiece housing. The coupler is designed to detach from the handpiece, allowing the applicator to be quickly removed and replaced while leaving the fluid lines and spray mixer intact in the reusable handpiece body.
2Ease of operation
If disposable applicators are designed with weakened coupler structures for easy detachment, then ease of operation is improved, but manufacturing precision requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The coupler is pre-designed with a weakened section (notch) during manufacturing that will break at a predetermined location during normal use. This preliminary preparation of the break point ensures that the coupler detaches cleanly and reliably without requiring complex real-time control mechanisms, balancing ease of detachment with manufacturing feasibility.
3Device complexity
If fluid lines are integrated through the handpiece housing, then device complexity is reduced, but ease of repair worsens due to disposable component design
Solution Approach 1:
The applicator tip and coupler are designed as disposable components that are replaced rather than repaired. This eliminates the need for complex repair procedures on these specific components, as they are discarded after use. The reusable handpiece housing with integrated fluid lines can be maintained separately, resolving the contradiction between integration and repairability.
Data Source
AI summary
An assembly with a handpiece assembly configured to receive electromagnetic energy and fluid, and to selectively deliver the electromagnetic energy and/or the fluid to a target surface. The handpiece assembly includes a handpiece housing and a plurality of fluid lines extending through the handpiece housing. The plurality of fluid lines can transfer fluid from a proximal end of the handpiece assembly to a distal end of the handpiece assembly. A spray mixer can be positioned at the distal end that is coupled to fluid lines of the plurality of fluid lines. An air input port can be positioned at the proximal end that is configured to be coupled to an auxiliary air hose, and an air delivery channel can be coupled to the air input port, and can supply air to a tip of an exchangeable applicator that can be coupled to the distal end of the handpiece housing.