Magnetic Shaft-Handle Coupling for Smart Surgical Instruments
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Solution Overview
Problem
Medical facilities often lag in adopting newer technologies due to patient safety concerns and a desire to maintain traditional practices, leading to a lack of interconnectedness and shared knowledge among facilities, which hampers improved patient care.
Innovation Solution
A surgical system incorporating a smart electrical system with a surgical hub that connects various surgical devices and tools to a cloud-based network, enabling data sharing and communication across facilities, and utilizing robotic arms with interchangeable tools for procedures like grasping, dissecting, clipping, and suturing, along with advanced data processing and encryption for secure data transfer.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of information
If surgical devices are connected to a cloud-based network for data sharing and communication, then interoperability and communication among medical facilities are enhanced, but patient safety concerns and security risks increase
Solution Approach 1:
A surgical hub acts as an intermediary device that connects surgical instruments to the cloud-based network. The hub manages data transmission, encryption, and communication protocols, serving as a secure gateway between the surgical devices and external networks. This intermediary layer protects patient safety by controlling and monitoring all data exchanges while enabling interoperability.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces traditional isolated mechanical surgical systems with an integrated smart electrical system. Surgical instruments are equipped with electronic sensors, processors, and communication modules that enable digital data sharing and cloud connectivity. This substitution enables enhanced communication and data exchange while allowing implementation of sophisticated security protocols to maintain patient safety.
2Reliability
If traditional surgical practices are maintained to ensure patient safety, then reliability is preserved, but adoption of advanced technologies and interoperability are hindered
Solution Approach 1:
The surgical system is designed with dynamic adaptability, allowing it to transition between traditional and advanced operational modes. The smart electrical system can operate in standalone mode for critical functions requiring traditional reliability, while simultaneously enabling cloud connectivity and advanced features when appropriate. This dynamic design allows gradual adoption of technology without compromising established safety practices.
Solution Approach 2:
The system allows changing of operational parameters and configurations based on surgical needs. Surgical instruments can be programmed with adjustable settings that optimize performance for different procedure types. The ability to modify system parameters enables integration of advanced technologies while maintaining the flexibility to revert to traditional practices when needed, thus preserving patient safety.
3Productivity
If surgical instruments are equipped with smart electrical systems and sensors for data collection, then surgical efficiency and real-time analysis are improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The surgical hub provides universal functionality by centralizing data processing, storage, and communication capabilities. Instead of each surgical instrument containing complex processing hardware, the hub serves as a multi-functional platform that handles data collection from multiple instruments, performs real-time analysis, and manages cloud communication. This universal approach improves surgical efficiency while reducing individual device complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The system employs a nested architecture where simple sensor modules are embedded within surgical instruments, which are in turn connected to the more capable surgical hub, which itself connects to the cloud network. Each layer handles specific functions appropriate to its capability level. This nested structure allows data collection at the instrument level without requiring full processing complexity at each device, thus improving efficiency while managing overall system complexity.
Data Source
AI summary
A method for producing a surgical instrument is disclosed. The method comprises obtaining a handle, wherein the handle comprises a distal end comprising a shaft interface surface and a first set of magnetic elements. The method further comprises obtaining a shaft, wherein the shaft comprises a proximal end comprising a handle interface surface, a second set of magnetic elements, and a third set of magnetic elements. The method further comprises attaching the shaft to the handle, wherein the shaft interface surface is configured to engage the shaft at the handle interface surface, wherein an attractive magnetic force is configured to pull the handle towards the shaft when the first set of magnetic elements interact with the second magnetic elements, and wherein a repulsive magnetic force is configured to repel the handle from the shaft when the first set of magnetic elements interacts with the third set of magnetic elements.