Surgical Instrument Temperature Sensing for Tissue Contact Detection
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Solution Overview
Problem
Surgical instruments that come into prolonged contact with patient tissue, especially those operating at higher temperatures, can cause tissue injury, and it is difficult for surgeons to detect such contact during minimally-invasive procedures due to limited visibility.
Innovation Solution
A system that tracks the temperature of surgical instruments during a procedure, detecting a temperature change exceeding a predetermined amount to indicate contact with patient tissue, and performs mitigation operations to prevent tissue injury.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Power
If surgical instruments operate at higher temperatures during minimally-invasive procedures, then surgical effectiveness is improved, but patient tissue may be burned or injured after prolonged contact
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary action by continuously monitoring temperature and detecting tissue contact before significant injury can occur. The temperature monitoring system alerts the surgeon in advance, allowing them to withdraw the instrument before burning or damaging the tissue, thus preventing harm while maintaining surgical effectiveness.
Solution Approach 2:
The system implements feedback by continuously monitoring the temperature of the surgical instrument and providing real-time information to the surgeon. When tissue contact is detected through temperature changes, the system alerts the surgeon, creating a closed-loop control that prevents tissue injury while allowing effective surgical operation.
2Object-affected harmful factors
If surgeons use endoscopic views during minimally-invasive procedures, then patient trauma is reduced, but the surgeon cannot determine when the instrument is in physical contact with patient tissue
Solution Approach 1:
The system uses temperature monitoring as an intermediary to detect tissue contact. Instead of relying on direct visual observation through the endoscope, the temperature sensor acts as an intermediary that indirectly detects contact by measuring temperature changes in the instrument, providing contact information without compromising the minimally-invasive approach.
Solution Approach 2:
The system replaces the mechanical/visual detection method with a thermal sensing approach. Instead of requiring the surgeon to visually determine contact through the endoscope, the system uses temperature sensors to automatically detect contact, substituting thermal measurement for visual inspection and solving the detection difficulty.
3Reliability
If temperature monitoring is used to detect tissue contact, then detection reliability is improved, but the system must distinguish temperature changes from electrical noise
Solution Approach 1:
The system applies dynamics by analyzing the rate and pattern of temperature change rather than relying on a single static temperature threshold. By evaluating how temperature changes over time and comparing it to expected physiological ranges, the system can distinguish genuine tissue contact from electrical noise or other interference, maintaining high reliability without excessive complexity.
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
The system reliably detects physical contact with patient tissue based on temperature changes, reducing the risk of injury by providing notifications or adjusting instrument settings, and is not affected by electrical noise, enabling detection outside the endoscopic view.
Implementation Method 1
a temperature sensor configured to detect, during a surgical session, a temperature of a surgical instrument included in a surgical system
Data Source
AI summary
A tissue contact detection system tracks, over time during a surgical procedure, a temperature of a surgical instrument associated with a surgical system used for the surgical procedure. The system determines, based on the tracked temperature of the surgical instrument, that the temperature of the surgical instrument changes from a first temperature to a second temperature that varies from the first temperature by at least a predetermined amount, and determines, based on the determination that the temperature of the surgical instrument changes from the first temperature to the second temperature, that the surgical instrument is in physical contact with patient tissue. The system performs, in response to the determination that the surgical instrument is in physical contact with patient tissue, a mitigation operation configured to mitigate the physical contact of the surgical instrument with the patient tissue.