Guard Device Petal Overlap for Tissue Bag Protection
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing tissue containment systems face challenges in protecting the containment bag from damage during manual morcellation, particularly due to the vulnerability of the bag's material to cutting instruments like scalpel blades.
Innovation Solution
A guard device comprising a plurality of individual petals that can move from a partially overlapped resting configuration to an increased overlapped configuration in response to circumferential force, providing enhanced protection by creating a tougher, cut-resistant surface between the cutting instrument and the containment bag, and can be integrated with a retractor system for secure placement within an incision or natural body opening.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If a simple containment bag is used, then ease of manufacture is improved, but protection against cutting instruments deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The guard device is constructed from multiple layers of cut-resistant material arranged in a petal configuration. Each petal layer provides additional protection, creating a composite structure that is significantly more resistant to cutting instruments than a single-layer containment bag while maintaining ease of manufacture through modular assembly.
2Object-affected harmful factors
If a rigid guard structure is used, then protection against cutting instruments is improved, but adaptability to varying incision sizes deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The guard device is divided into multiple individual petals that can independently move and adjust. This segmentation allows the rigid petal structure to adapt to varying incision sizes while maintaining protection against cutting instruments, as the petals can spread apart or overlap depending on the required opening size.
Solution Approach 2:
The petal structure is designed to be dynamic rather than static, allowing the petals to move from a partially overlapped resting configuration to an increased overlapped configuration in response to circumferential force. This dynamic behavior enables the guard to adapt to different incision sizes while maintaining its protective function.
3Stability of the object's composition
If petals are fixed in position, then structural stability is improved, but response to circumferential force deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The petals are designed with a degree of mobility to respond dynamically to circumferential forces applied during manual morcellation. This allows the structure to maintain stability at rest while adapting its configuration in response to operational forces, optimizing both structural stability and responsiveness.
Data Source
AI summary
Apparatus for placement in an incision or a natural body opening comprises a retractor having a sleeve (655, 656, 657) and a guard device comprising overlapping petals (662) depending from a mounting ring (661). The guard device is movable by the retractor from an insertion configuration to a deployed configuration as the retractor sleeve is moved to the retracting configuration.