Ophthalmic Surgical Instrument Tip Composite Frame Coating
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
The manufacturing of ophthalmic surgical instruments with complex distal tips is laborious and costly due to the need for precise, hand-manufactured metallic components that are difficult to produce efficiently and economically, especially for small, intricate designs required in microsurgical procedures.
Innovation Solution
A method involving an internal metal frame with a plastic or coating external layer, where the frame provides necessary flexibility and stiffness, and the coating defines the complex exterior shape, allowing for faster, less labor-intensive, and more cost-effective production using injection molding and other industrial processes.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If entirely metal instrument tips are used to ensure appropriate bending stiffness and direct contact with patient anatomy, then technical requirements (flexibility, stiffness, hardness) are met, but material cost and manufacturing cost increase significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The instrument tip uses a composite structure combining a metallic internal frame (made from inexpensive materials like stainless steel or nickel-titanium alloy) with a biocompatible polymer coating (such as polyetheretherketone or polyurethane). This composite approach allows the internal frame to provide structural stiffness while the coating provides biocompatibility, reducing material costs while meeting all technical requirements.
Solution Approach 2:
Different parts of the instrument tip have different material properties: the internal frame uses metal for structural support and bending stiffness, while the external coating uses biocompatible polymer for patient contact. This local differentiation of material quality allows each component to fulfill its specific function at optimal cost.
2Manufacturing precision
If entirely metal instrument tips are hand-manufactured to achieve complex shapes and smooth surfaces, then design requirements are met, but manufacturing time and labor intensity increase
Solution Approach 1:
The complex three-dimensional shape of the instrument tip is pre-formed within the internal frame structure before the coating is applied. The injection molding process creates the precise geometry in advance, eliminating the need for subsequent hand-shaping, grinding, and polishing operations.
Solution Approach 2:
Manual mechanical processes (hand-rolling, bending, grinding, polishing) are replaced with automated injection molding technology. The injection molding process automatically forms the complex shape and produces a smooth surface finish in a single automated operation, dramatically reducing manufacturing time and labor intensity.
3Reliability
If high-cost materials and manual manufacturing processes are used, then technical requirements are satisfied, but economic feasibility for disposable instruments is lost
Solution Approach 1:
The composite construction using inexpensive metallic internal frames and biocompatible polymer coatings dramatically reduces material costs compared to entirely metal construction, making disposable instruments economically viable while maintaining all required performance characteristics.
Solution Approach 2:
The reduced manufacturing cost and material cost enabled by the composite structure makes single-use/disposable instruments economically feasible, allowing each instrument to be discarded after one use without significant financial burden, thereby improving sterility and safety.
Data Source
Figure 1~3
Figure 4
Figure 5a~5b
AI summary
A method of manufacturing a surgical device can include generating a first internal frame (442) defining an internal structure of an instrument tip (440); covering at least a portion of the first internal frame with a first coating (444) to define an exterior surface of the instrument tip; and generating an instrument body such that a proximal end of the instrument tip is positioned at a distal end of the instrument body. An ophthalmic surgical instrument can include an instrument body; and an instrument tip disposed at a distal end of the instrument body, the instrument tip including a first section linearly extending along a longitudinal axis of the instrument body and a second section extending obliquely from the first section, the second section being arcuately shaped; and wherein the instrument tip comprises a first internal frame and a first coating covering the first internal frame.