Surgical Tool Usage Detection With Movable Shielding Mark
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional surgical tools lack an effective mechanism to identify their usage status, leading to the risk of accidental reuse and potential infection in patients.
Innovation Solution
A surgical tool with a movable shielding component that changes state from unused to used by exposing a mark upon separation from an adapter, combined with an image capturing and processing system to confirm usage status.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If no identification mechanism is provided for surgical tools, then the device complexity is reduced, but the reliability of preventing repeated use deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The surgical tool is divided into distinct functional segments: a rod surgical instrument with a mark, a movable shielding component, and an adapter. The shielding component can be positioned to either cover or expose the mark, creating a segmented system that enables usage status indication without requiring complex electronic or digital identification mechanisms.
Solution Approach 2:
The movable shielding component acts as an intermediary element between the mark and the external environment. By positioning this intermediate component to cover or expose the mark, the system communicates usage status without requiring direct interaction with complex identification systems, thus maintaining simplicity while achieving reliability.
2Reliability
If a movable shielding component is added to indicate usage status, then the reliability of usage identification is improved, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The shielding component is designed to be movable rather than fixed, allowing it to transition between two positions: covering the mark in the unused state and exposing the mark in the used state. This dynamic element provides clear usage indication through simple positional change, achieving high reliability without requiring complex mechanical or electronic systems.
Solution Approach 2:
The system uses the visual state of the mark (exposed or covered) as the identification mechanism. By controlling the visibility of the mark through the shielding component's position, the system creates a clear visual indicator of usage status that can be easily perceived by medical personnel without requiring complex electronic displays or additional identification components.
3Ease of operation
If the shielding component is positioned to expose the mark, then the ease of detecting usage status is improved, but the risk of accidental reuse increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system provides immediate visual feedback on the usage status of the surgical tool through the position of the shielding component relative to the mark. When the tool is used and separated from the adapter, the shielding component automatically moves to expose the mark, providing clear feedback that the tool is no longer usable. This feedback mechanism helps prevent accidental reuse by making the usage status visually apparent.
Solution Approach 2:
The shielding component is pre-positioned to cover the mark in the unused state, creating a preliminary protective action that prevents accidental exposure and reuse. The design ensures that the mark remains covered until the tool is actually used and separated from the adapter, at which point the shielding component moves to expose the mark. This preliminary positioning helps prevent misuse before it can occur.
Data Source
AI summary
A surgical tool and an identification system for determining usage status of the same are provided. The surgical tool includes a rod surgical instrument, a shielding component and an adapter. The rod surgical instrument includes a rod having two ends being an operation end and a joint end, respectively, a first mark is arranged on the rod, the shielding component is movably sleeved on the rod, and the adapter is detachably combined with the rod surgical instrument. The shielding component located at a first position on the rod shields the first mark as the surgical tool is in an unused state. As the surgical tool is in a used state, and after the rod surgical instrument is separated from the adapter, the shielding component moves from the first position of the rod to a second position of the rod to expose at least part of the first mark.