Laminated Surgical Blade Heating for Tissue Sealing in Thin Jaws
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing medical treatment tools face challenges in efficiently incising and sealing tissue while maintaining a thin and compact design, with issues related to thermal and electrical energy leakage and inefficient energy distribution.
Innovation Solution
A medical treatment tool with a laminated configuration of a blade, heater, and wiring, where the blade's output surface is smaller than the energy supply surface, and an insulating member covers other surfaces to prevent energy leakage, allowing for efficient energy delivery with increased density and reduced size.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Volume of moving object
If the blade thickness is reduced to achieve a thin and compact design, then the device size is reduced, but the energy delivery efficiency and thermal insulation become compromised
Solution Approach 1:
The heater is embedded within the blade thickness direction, with the blade, heater, and wiring arranged in a laminated nested configuration. This allows the heater to be positioned inside the blade structure without increasing the overall device volume, maintaining a thin profile while providing effective heating capability.
Solution Approach 2:
The insulating member is selectively positioned to cover only the non-output surfaces of the blade, allowing thermal energy to be delivered efficiently to the tissue through the output surface while preventing energy leakage from other surfaces. This localized insulation approach optimizes both energy delivery and prevention of waste.
2Power
If the heater area is increased to improve energy delivery, then the heating efficiency is improved, but the device size and complexity increase
Solution Approach 1:
The heater area in the planar direction is increased by utilizing the thickness dimension effectively. The heater is positioned within the blade thickness, allowing a larger heating surface area without increasing the blade's planar dimensions, thus maintaining a compact device structure while improving heating efficiency.
Solution Approach 2:
The blade, heater, and wiring are merged into a single laminated integrated structure. This combination simplifies the overall device configuration by eliminating separate assembly steps and reducing structural complexity, while the heater's larger area within the laminated structure improves energy delivery efficiency.
3Loss of energy
If thermal insulation is enhanced to prevent energy leakage, then energy efficiency is improved, but the device structure becomes more complex
Solution Approach 1:
The insulating member is applied selectively only to the non-output surfaces of the blade where thermal energy leakage would occur, rather than covering the entire blade. This localized approach prevents energy leakage effectively while minimizing the amount of insulating material needed and reducing structural complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The insulating member is integrated within the laminated structure of the blade and heater assembly, nested in a way that provides thermal insulation without adding external bulk or complexity to the device structure.
4Volume of moving object
If the blade is made thinner to reduce device size, then the device is more compact, but the structural strength and energy delivery capability are reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The blade is constructed as a composite structure with the heater embedded within it in the thickness direction. This composite configuration allows the blade to maintain thin dimensions while the integrated heater provides structural support and energy delivery capability, compensating for the reduced thickness.
Solution Approach 2:
The functional elements (blade, heater, wiring) are merged into a laminated integrated structure where each component supports the others. The heater and wiring embedded within the blade thickness provide both thermal functionality and structural reinforcement, allowing the blade to be thin without sacrificing strength.
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 tool effectively incises and seals tissue with enhanced energy density and reduced size, ensuring precise positioning and minimizing energy loss, thus improving surgical efficiency and accuracy.
Implementation Method 1
at least one heater that supplies, to the first blade, thermal energy for treating a tissue grasped by the grasping portion
Implementation Method 2
an energy insulating member that is arranged such that only an output surface of the first blade, which comes into contact with the tissue, is exposed and that blocks leakage of the thermal energy to an outside of the first jaw
Data Source
AI summary
A medical treatment tool includes: a grasping portion having a first jaw and a second jaw; a plate-shaped blade that is provided in the first jaw and that has a thickness direction; a heater that supplies, to the first blade, thermal energy for treating a tissue grasped by the grasping portion; an energy insulating member that is arranged such that only an output surface of the blade, which comes into contact with the tissue, is exposed and that blocks leakage of the thermal energy to an outside of the first jaw; and first wiring that supplies electrical energy to the heater, wherein the blade, the heater, and the first wiring are arranged so as to be laminated in the thickness direction, and an area of a supply surface where the heater supplies the thermal energy to the blade is larger than an area of the output surface.