Disposable Ocular Needle Handling Means with Usage Indication
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Solution Overview
Problem
Medical tools used in ocular surgery, such as ultrasound-activated hollow needles, face challenges in sterilization and reuse due to their small dimensions, leading to risks of cross-contamination and material fatigue, which can result in patient injury.
Innovation Solution
The design of handling means that change properties upon connection to or disconnection from a handle, or upon reprocessing, ensuring visibility of usage and minimizing multiple uses, with features like optical changes or damage upon sterilization, to prevent reprocessing and ensure safe handling.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Object-affected harmful factors
If the medical tool is designed with small dimensions for minimal trauma, then patient trauma is reduced, but sterilization reliability deteriorates and cross-contamination risk increases
Solution Approach 1:
The medical tool is divided into two separate parts: a disposable functional part (needle) and a reusable handle. The functional part is discarded after single use, eliminating sterilization concerns, while the handle can be properly sterilized and reused. This segmentation resolves the contradiction by allowing small dimensions in the functional part for minimal trauma while ensuring sterilization reliability through separate handling of components.
Solution Approach 2:
The functional part of the medical tool is designed as a disposable component that is discarded after a single use. This eliminates the need for sterilization of the small-dimensioned functional part, thereby removing the cross-contamination risk while maintaining the benefit of small dimensions for patient trauma reduction.
2Object-affected harmful factors
If the medical tool is designed with small dimensions, then patient trauma is reduced, but material fatigue occurs leading to tool breakage
Solution Approach 1:
By separating the tool into a disposable functional part and a durable handle, the small-dimensioned functional part is used only once, avoiding cumulative material fatigue. The handle, which undergoes repeated use, is designed with sufficient strength and can be replaced if fatigued, thus resolving the contradiction between small dimensions and durability.
Solution Approach 2:
The functional part is designed as a disposable component that is discarded after single use, eliminating material fatigue concerns. This allows the functional part to be optimized for minimal patient trauma through small dimensions without compromising overall tool durability, as the disposable nature prevents fatigue accumulation.
3Ease of operation
If the handling means are designed to be simple for easy handling, then ease of operation is improved, but the ability to indicate usage status deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The handling means incorporates a color-coded identification system where different colors indicate different usage statuses (e.g., green for unused, red for used). This allows the handling means to remain simple and easy to grasp while simultaneously providing clear visual information about the tool's usage status, thus resolving the contradiction between simplicity and information retention.
Solution Approach 2:
The handling means includes visual parameters such as color changes or markings that alter to indicate usage status. These parameter changes provide information about whether the tool has been used or sterilized without complicating the physical handling characteristics, thereby maintaining ease of operation while preventing loss of usage information.
Data Source
AI summary
A hollow needle for an instrument used in ocular surgery for the in-vivo disintegration of organic lenses via ultrasound, having a functional part (1) and a connector part (2), with the connector part (2) having handling portions(3) and serving to attach the tool in a removable fashion to a handle, wherein the properties of the handling portions (3) change upon connection of the tool to the handle, removal of the tool from the handle, and/or upon reprocessing of the tool. In addition, a method is disclosed for the production of a corresponding medical tool.