Medical Instrument Endless Rotation Tip Fixing Device
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing medical instruments with limited rotational movement of the instrument tip due to guide wires or guide ropes forming cords, leading to increased tensile stress and potential tearing, restrict the ability to tighten sewing materials effectively in narrow surgical spaces.
Innovation Solution
The instrument tip is designed for endless rotation with a fixing device that secures the sewing material's loose end, allowing it to be wound onto the tip for tightening, using a joint mechanism with guide wires or cables and a motorizable drive, and optionally featuring jaw parts or a clamping device for secure fixation and winding.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Speed
If the instrument tip is rotated using guide wires or guide ropes driven by a spindle, then the instrument tip can achieve rotational movement, but the guide wires or guide ropes roll over or twist and form cords, leading to increased tensile stress and potential tearing
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces the traditional spindle-driven guide wire mechanism with a direct rotational drive of the instrument tip. The instrument tip is rotated directly by a drive mechanism (such as a motor) without using guide wires or guide ropes that pass through the shaft. This eliminates the mechanical problem of guide wires rolling over or twisting to form cords, which causes increased tensile stress and potential tearing. The direct drive system maintains rotational capability while removing the source of tensile stress concentration in the guide wires.
2Reliability
If the maximum rotation is limited to prevent guide wire tearing, then the reliability of the instrument is improved, but the ability to tighten sewing materials in narrow surgical spaces is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces the limited-rotation guide wire mechanism with a direct rotational drive that enables the instrument tip to rotate through larger angles without mechanical constraints. The instrument tip can now be rotated directly by a motor or other drive mechanism, allowing the loose end of the sewing material to be wound onto the instrument tip for tightening knots or sutures. This eliminates the need to limit maximum rotation to +/- 315 degrees, providing sufficient rotational range to perform tightening operations in narrow surgical spaces while maintaining reliability through the elimination of guide wire failure modes.
3Ease of operation
If guide wires or guide ropes are used to actuate the instrument tip, then the instrument can be controlled from the proximal end, but the effective length of the guide wires is shortened by cord formation, leading to increased tensile stress
Solution Approach 1:
The patent eliminates the guide wire or guide rope actuation system entirely and replaces it with a direct drive mechanism at the instrument tip. The instrument tip is rotated directly by a motor or other actuator mounted at or near the tip, without requiring long flexible cables to pass through the shaft. This substitution removes the source of tensile stress in the guide wires, as there are no guide wires subject to cord formation and stress concentration. The controllability of the instrument tip is maintained through the direct drive mechanism, which can be controlled from the proximal end through standard robotic or motor control systems.
Data Source
AI summary
One embodiment relates to a medical instrument (1) with a hollow shaft (2), an actuating unit (4) arranged at the proximal end (3) of the shaft (2) and an instrument tip (6) with an instrument (7) arranged at the distal end (5) of the shaft (2), wherein the instrument (7) can be actuated via an actuating element (8) which is mounted in the shaft (2) in an axially displaceable manner, and wherein the actuating element (8) is operatively connected to the actuating unit (4) on the proximal side, and wherein the instrument tip (6) can be pivoted relative to the longitudinal axis (10) of the shaft (2) via a joint mechanism (9). According to one embodiment, the instrument tip (6) can be rotated endlessly, wherein a fixing device is provided on the instrument tip (6) with which the loose end (17, 23) of a sewing material (18, 24) can be fixed on the instrument tip (6).