Disposable Needle Bending Tool With Controlled Curvature Limits
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Solution Overview
Problem
Surgical needles lack a safe and effective method for controlled bending, leading to user risk and potential damage to the needle during off-label bending, which can result in kinking or crushing, compromising anchor deployment.
Innovation Solution
A single-patient-use disposable bending tool with a molded, single-piece body featuring a curved surface and ergonomic finger loops, allowing controlled bending of needles within predetermined limits, including a slot for the needle tip and a guide for the sheath, with an angle limiter to prevent excessive bending.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If users bend the needle off-label by hand or using forceps, then the needle can be bent to achieve desired curvature, but the user is at risk and the needle may be damaged beyond use
Solution Approach 1:
A bending tool with a curved surface acts as an intermediary device between the user and the needle. The tool provides a controlled bending interface that guides the needle along a predetermined curvature path, preventing direct manual manipulation that could cause kinking or crushing while still achieving the desired needle bend for accessing posterior meniscal regions or maneuvering around intercondylar eminences
Solution Approach 2:
The bending tool changes the bending parameters by providing a predetermined bend radius and maximum bend angle through its curved surface geometry. This controls the needle bend within safe limits (e.g., 30-45 degree angles with radii of 10-20mm) while maintaining needle structural integrity, transforming the uncontrolled bending process into a parameter-controlled operation
2Ease of operation
If surgical needles are made flexible to allow bending, then the needles can be bent more easily, but the needles become unduly expensive and complicated
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of making the needle flexible to enable bending, the solution inverts the approach by making the bending tool flexible or compliant enough to accommodate the rigid needle. The bending tool's curved surface is designed with appropriate compliance to allow the rigid needle to bend along its predetermined path without requiring the needle itself to be flexible, thus maintaining needle simplicity while achieving bendability
3Reliability
If the bending tool provides a predetermined bend radius, then the needle bending is controlled and safe, but the tool structure becomes more complex
Solution Approach 1:
The bending tool employs a curved surface with a predetermined bend radius (e.g., 10-20mm) that provides geometric control over the needle bending path. This curvature-based control mechanism is simpler than mechanical locking or adjustment systems, as it relies on the inherent geometry of the curved surface to guide the needle bend while maintaining reliability and preventing excessive bending angles
Solution Approach 2:
The bending tool merges multiple functions into a single integrated structure: the curved surface simultaneously provides the bending path guidance, the maximum bend angle limitation, and the structural support for the needle during bending. This consolidation reduces overall device complexity compared to having separate components for each function
Data Source
AI summary
A single-patient-use disposable tool comprises a molded, single-piece body with a curved upper surface having a predetermined bend radius for bending a needle slidably disposed in a sheath. A distal end of the curved surface has a slot for insertion of a tip of a needle, while the proximal end of the curved surface has a guide member for slidably receiving the sheath. Two finger loops or similar ergonomic features allow the user to rotate the bending tool relative to the sheath to bend the needle about the predetermined bend radius. After completing the bend, the tool is removed from the needle and disposed of.