Handle Assembly with Sequential Trigger Release for Endoscopic Suturing
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Solution Overview
Problem
Endoscopic suturing is challenging due to the difficulty in knotting suture material through small openings, making the process time-consuming and burdensome during minimally invasive surgical procedures.
Innovation Solution
A handle assembly for an articulatable surgical instrument with a housing, actuation shaft, first and second triggers, and a second-trigger release mechanism, allowing for efficient operation of a suture needle and jaws to pass through tissue, facilitating suturing through small incisions.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If conventional suturing with sharp metal needles and manual knotting is used through endoscopic openings, then suturing function is achieved, but the process becomes time-consuming and burdensome
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the knotting function from the suturing process by using a pre-formed loop suture configuration. The suture is pre-configured with a loop that can be easily manipulated and secured without requiring complex knot-tying maneuvers through the endoscopic opening, thereby eliminating the time-consuming knotting step while maintaining the suturing function.
Solution Approach 2:
The suture material is pre-configured into a loop structure before insertion through the endoscopic opening. This preliminary preparation of the suture configuration allows for faster deployment and securing of the suture at the target site, as the complex knot-tying maneuvers are replaced by simpler manipulation of the pre-formed loop structure.
2Ease of operation
If manual knotting of suture material is performed through small endoscopic openings, then tissue approximation is achieved, but the maneuver complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent removes the complex knot-tying maneuver from the surgical procedure by using a pre-formed loop suture that can be secured through simple manipulation. The loop structure is designed to be easily grasped and tightened through the endoscopic opening without requiring complex hand-eye coordination or multiple manipulation steps, thereby simplifying the operator's task while maintaining effective tissue approximation.
3Reliability
If traditional suturing techniques are used in endoscopic surgery, then tissue suturing is achieved, but the overall surgical efficiency decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The suture material is pre-configured into a loop structure with predetermined geometry and tension characteristics before insertion. This preliminary preparation ensures that when the suture is deployed at the target site, it provides reliable tissue approximation and secure fixation without requiring time-consuming adjustment or complex manipulation, thereby maintaining suturing reliability while significantly improving surgical efficiency.
Data Source
AI summary
A handle assembly for operating an articulatable surgical instrument is provided and includes a housing; an actuation shaft translatably and rotatably supported in the housing; a first trigger supported on the housing and connected to the actuation shaft, the first trigger being configured to translate the actuation shaft to operate a first function of the surgical instrument; a second trigger supported on the housing and connected to the actuation shaft, the second trigger being configured to rotate the actuation shaft to operate a second function of the surgical instrument; and a second-trigger release supported in the housing, the second-trigger release having a first position blocking actuation of the second trigger and a second position permitting actuation of the second trigger, where the second-trigger release is actuated from the first position to the second position upon and complete actuation of the first trigger.