Multi-Directional Surgical Instrument with Intuitive Wire-Pulley Control
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional surgical instruments with unbendable end tools are not suitable for accessing surgical regions and performing various operations, and operators struggle to intuitively control the bending of bendable end tools, leading to difficulty in learning and potential errors during surgical procedures.
Innovation Solution
A surgical instrument with an end tool that rotates in multiple directions, an operator controlling the end tool, and an operating force transmitter using wires and pulleys to transmit operations, ensuring the operator's and end tool's operation directions are intuitively identical.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If a bendable end tool is used to access surgical regions and perform various operations, then the adaptability and versatility of the surgical instrument is improved, but the ease of operation deteriorates because the operator's control actions are not intuitively identical to the actual bending operations
Solution Approach 1:
The operator is configured to extend toward the end tool rather than away from it. This inverted configuration causes the operator to rotate in the same direction as the end tool, making the control intuitive. When the operator rotates clockwise, the end tool rotates clockwise, eliminating the need for operators to mentally reverse control directions.
Solution Approach 2:
The operator's rotation direction is made to copy or mirror the end tool's rotation direction. By configuring the operator to extend toward the end tool and rotate in the same direction, the control interface directly replicates the actual operation, creating an intuitive one-to-one correspondence between operator action and tool response.
2Adaptability or versatility
If a bendable end tool with multiple degrees of freedom is used, then the versatility of surgical operations is improved, but the device complexity increases making it harder to learn and operate
Solution Approach 1:
By inverting the operator configuration to extend toward the end tool, the system simplifies the control interface despite the end tool's multiple degrees of freedom. The operator naturally rotates in the same direction as the end tool, providing an intuitive control scheme that reduces learning complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The end tool is designed with multiple degrees of freedom to perform various surgical operations including bending, rotating, and gripping. This multi-functional capability allows a single instrument to replace multiple specialized tools while maintaining intuitive control through the inverted operator configuration.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
Improves the convenience, accuracy, and reliability of surgical operations by aligning the operator's and end tool's operation directions, reducing the learning curve and minimizing errors.
Implementation Method 1
an operating force transmitter including one or more wires and one or more pulleys transmitting an operation of the operator to the end tool
Data Source
AI summary
Provided are surgical instruments, and more particularly, surgical instruments that may be manually operated to perform laparoscopic operations or various surgical operations.