Medical Clip Applicator with Parallel Locking Element
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing medical clip application devices lack reliability and reproducibility in placing clips in tissue areas due to manual force application, leading to inconsistent results and potential poor placement.
Innovation Solution
An automatic device with a feed mechanism, guide, stop, and locking element allows for controlled and reproducible placement of medical lockable clips in tissue areas, utilizing a pneumatic or hydraulic system to apply consistent force and velocity for reliable fixation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If manual force is applied for shooting and closing the clip, then the device structure remains simple, but the placement reliability and reproducibility deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The device is divided into functionally independent modules: a feed mechanism for advancing the clip, a locking element for engaging the clip's locking mechanism, and a stop for limiting feed mechanism travel. This segmentation allows each component to perform its specific function reliably while maintaining overall system manageability despite increased automation
Solution Approach 2:
Manual mechanical force application is replaced with an automatic actuation system that provides consistent, reproducible force for both feeding the clip and actuating the locking mechanism. The automatic system eliminates variability in operator force application, ensuring reliable and identical results with each clip deployment
2Speed
If manual operation is used, then the device is easier to operate, but the shoot-in velocity and closing force are insufficient
Solution Approach 1:
The feed mechanism is designed to move dynamically from a starting position to a tissue area with controlled velocity. The system provides higher shoot-in velocity through automatic actuation while the stop mechanism ensures the feed mechanism does not over-travel, maintaining safety and control despite increased speed capability
Solution Approach 2:
The complexity of high-velocity automatic actuation is extracted into a dedicated feed mechanism module, allowing the rest of the device to remain simple. The locking element separately handles the closing action, isolating the complex high-force function from the basic operational interface
3Reliability
If the stop limits the feed mechanism motion, then the feed mechanism is easier to control, but the locking element motion is restricted
Solution Approach 1:
The locking element is designed to move in a dimension parallel to the feed mechanism's feed direction, not along the same path. This parallel motion allows the locking element to reach the clip and engage its locking mechanism independently of the stop's limitation on feed mechanism travel, ensuring reliable locking while maintaining simple stop control
Data Source
AI summary
A device and method are provided for clips or staples as an effective substitute for suture material when joining body tissue or covering body tissue with a mesh, such as is particularly used in fracture operations. The device for applying a medical lockable clip (1) in a tissue area, includes a) an automatic advancing mechanism oriented in the direction of the tissue area from a starting position and having a guide in the advancing direction for the clip, wherein the clip has two gripper teeth oriented in the advancing direction, b) a stop for the advancing mechanism, and c) a locking element displaceable with the advancing mechanism and having a locking mechanism on the clip side for locking the clip, wherein d) the locking element is displaceable together with and parallel to the advancing mechanism, and e) the stop does not limit the motion of the locking element.