Load Sensing Surgical Blade with Force Feedback
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current surgical instruments lack the capability to monitor and alert surgeons when excessive forces are applied, which can lead to instrument damage or complications during endoscopic surgery.
Innovation Solution
Integration of force sensors between the drive unit and working assembly of surgical cutting tools, allowing for the measurement and alerting of load limits, with methods for calibration and determination of lateral loads.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If force sensors are integrated into the surgical instrument, then the ability to monitor and alert excessive forces is improved, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent integrates force sensors directly into the working assembly of the surgical instrument, merging the sensing function with the existing mechanical structure. This consolidation allows force monitoring capability to be added without proportionally increasing overall device complexity, as the sensors become part of the existing assembly rather than separate add-on components.
Solution Approach 2:
The force sensors act as intermediary elements between the cutting element and the drive unit, measuring lateral loads transmitted through the working assembly. These sensors provide indirect measurement of forces applied to tissue, enabling monitoring and alerting functions while maintaining a relatively simple overall instrument architecture.
2Measurement precision
If multiple sensors are positioned around the rotatable shaft, then the measurement precision of lateral loads from any direction is improved, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent positions multiple force sensors at specific asymmetric locations around the rotatable shaft housing, optimized to detect lateral loads from various directions. This asymmetric arrangement provides comprehensive directional coverage while minimizing the number of sensors needed, balancing measurement precision with device complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
By distributing sensors around the circumference of the rotatable shaft rather than along a single line, the patent adds a spatial dimension to force measurement. This three-dimensional sensor arrangement enables detection of lateral loads from any transverse direction, significantly improving measurement precision without requiring an excessive number of sensors.
Data Source
AI summary
Embodiments of the invention include drive units and other effective types of movement inducing devices that include load sensing mechanisms capable of giving feedback to a user when a force is being applied to the devices during use. The applied force for which monitoring is provided may be one or more of a lateral force transverse to a longitudinal rotating axis of a surgical blade, burr, or other mechanism, a force applied along the longitudinal rotating axis, and other forces.