Integrated Shoulder Surgery Drape with Tear-Off Limb Sleeve
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Solution Overview
Problem
Surgical drapes, particularly for shoulder surgery, are difficult to use and require multiple layers, leading to prolonged preparation times and increased risk of sterilization errors.
Innovation Solution
A surgical drape design featuring a main covering layer with a cut for arm coverage, a limb sleeve with perforations for easy tearing, and a tourniquet element, allowing for quick and sterile patient preparation with minimal steps.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If multiple sterile drapes are used to cover the patient for shoulder surgery, then the sterile coverage is maintained, but the preparation time is prolonged and the complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines multiple separate drapes (main drape, limb sleeve, and additional covering layers) into a single integrated surgical drape assembly. This unified structure maintains comprehensive sterile coverage while eliminating the time-consuming process of applying multiple separate drapes, directly resolving the contradiction between sterile reliability and preparation time.
Solution Approach 2:
The integrated drape is designed with segmented functional components including a main covering layer, a limb sleeve with a specific opening configuration, and an absorbing layer. These segments work together as a unified system, allowing each component to fulfill its specific function while contributing to overall sterile coverage without requiring multiple separate drape applications.
2Reliability
If multiple surgical drapes are used for shoulder surgery, then complete coverage is achieved, but the number of steps and manpower required increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges the functions of multiple separate drapes into a single integrated assembly comprising a main drape with front and back surfaces, an absorbing layer, and a limb sleeve with a strategically positioned opening. This consolidation reduces the number of separate components from multiple independent drapes to one unified structure, simplifying the overall system while maintaining complete sterile coverage.
3Reliability
If the drape is designed to cover the entire patient, then sterile protection is maximized, but the accessibility to the surgical site is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The drape incorporates a localized opening in the limb sleeve portion that provides targeted access to the shoulder surgical site. This opening is strategically positioned and sized to allow surgeon access to the operative area while the remainder of the integrated drape maintains comprehensive sterile protection over the patient's body, resolving the contradiction between overall sterile protection and local surgical access.
4Ease of manufacture
If the limb sleeve width is uniform throughout, then manufacturing is simplified, but the fit for patients with varying arm circumferences is compromised
Solution Approach 1:
The limb sleeve is designed with an asymmetric width profile where the width varies along the length of the sleeve to accommodate the natural tapering of the human arm from proximal to distal regions. This asymmetric geometry provides a better anatomical fit for patients with varying arm circumferences while remaining manufacturable through standard cutting and sewing processes, balancing ease of manufacture with patient adaptability.
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
Enables fast, sterile patient coverage with reduced risk of errors by allowing the drape to be applied in fewer steps, maintaining surgical access without compromising customization to patient anatomy.
Implementation Method 1
a tourniquet element comprising an elastic opening configured to move over an arm
Implementation Method 2
an absorbing layer applied to the front surface
Data Source
Figure 1~2
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Figure 5
AI summary
The present invention relates to a surgical drape (35, 135) for shoulder surgery. The surgical drape (35, 135) comprises a main covering layer (10, 110) having a front surface (18, 118) and a back surface (38, 138), an absorbing layer (2, 102) applied to the front surface wherein a first cut is made through the absorbing layer and the main covering layer, the cut being configured that the drape can move over an arm through the cut, a limb sleeve (5, 105) having a closed end and an open end wherein the limb sleeve is assembled to the main covering layer at the open end and the cut aligned such that when the drape is moved over the arm through the cut, the arm is covered by the limb sleeve, and a tourniquet element (12, 121) having an elastic opening configured to move over an arm with a circumferential pressure on the arm, wherein perforations are provided in the limb sleeve for tearing off part of the limb sleeve and wherein the tourniquet element is assembled in the limb sleeve at a position between the open end of the limb sleeve and the perforations.