Illuminated Surgical Retractor for Focused Light and Low Glare
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing medical devices fail to provide sufficient illumination to desired surgical fields, often creating glare and heat, require complex assembly, and pose environmental risks due to battery disposal.
Innovation Solution
A surgical retractor with a flexible circuit board and adjustable light sources, ergonomic design, and a push-tab assembly for easy battery removal, along with a smoke evacuation system and thermal dissipation features.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Illumination intensity
If existing medical devices use integrated light sources, then illumination is provided, but the illumination is not sufficient or creates glare and does not concentrate on desired surgical fields
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality by positioning multiple light sources at specific locations along the device shaft, with each light source directed at a particular angle to illuminate specific surgical fields. The light sources are strategically placed to provide concentrated illumination where needed while avoiding areas where glare would interfere with the physician's view, thus creating non-uniform, location-specific lighting characteristics.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent employs asymmetry in the angular orientation of light sources relative to the device shaft. Each light source is positioned at a different angle (e.g., 45 degrees, 90 degrees, 135 degrees) to direct light in asymmetric patterns that concentrate illumination on surgical fields while preventing glare from entering the physician's field of view, breaking the symmetry of conventional omnidirectional lighting.
2Use of energy by moving object
If high efficiency LEDs are used, then energy conversion is improved, but heat energy is generated that can burn patients and damage tissue
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the harmful heat energy from the light sources by incorporating heat dissipation features directly into the device structure. Heat sinks are integrated into the housing and shaft portions, providing thermal pathways that conduct heat away from the light sources and dissipate it into the surrounding environment, separating the light-generating function from the heat accumulation problem.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent converts the harmful heat energy into a manageable thermal management challenge by designing heat dissipation structures that actively utilize the generated heat. The heat sinks and thermal conduction pathways transform the previously harmful by-product into a controlled thermal flow that can be safely managed, turning the waste heat into part of the device's thermal management system.
3Reliability
If single-use configuration is used, then sterilization and cross contamination risks are eliminated, but battery disposal creates environmental hazards
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the device into separable components, specifically designing the battery compartment to be easily detachable from the main device body. This segmentation allows the battery to be removed and recycled separately from the disposable medical device portion, enabling proper environmental disposal of the battery while maintaining the single-use sterile configuration of the medical instrument itself.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements a discard-and-recover strategy by designing the device so that the battery can be recovered for recycling while the rest of the medical device is discarded as biohazardous waste. The easy-to-remove battery compartment facilitates this selective recovery, allowing valuable battery materials to be reclaimed and preventing toxic gases from being released during incineration of the complete device.
4Loss of time
If illuminated medical devices are shipped pre-assembled, then assembly time is reduced, but manufacturing and shipping regulations may be violated
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies preliminary action by pre-assembling non-sensitive components of the device while leaving the battery compartment separate until the point of use. This allows most of the device to be manufactured and quality-tested in advance, reducing assembly time during surgery, while the battery is added separately to comply with shipping regulations for devices containing power sources, thus balancing speed with regulatory compliance.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
Provides focused illumination, reduces heat generation, allows quick assembly, and ensures safe battery disposal, enhancing surgical efficiency and safety.
Implementation Method 1
a flexible circuit board and adjustable light sources that concentrate illumination on desired surgical fields
Implementation Method 2
A medical device with a flexible circuit board and adjustable light sources that concentrate illumination on desired surgical fields
Implementation Method 3
includes a smoke evacuation system
Data Source
AI summary
A surgical retractor comprising a blade having first and second opposing surfaces, and a handle extending from a proximal end of the blade, wherein the first surface of the blade includes a non-slip texture having a preferential grip in a first direction corresponding to direction of extraction of the surgical retractor from an incision and having a minimal or no grip in a second direction opposite to the first direction and in a third direction transverse to the first and second directions.