Reconfigurable Internal Platform for Minimally Invasive Surgery
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current laparoscopic surgery technologies face limitations due to mobility restrictions from rigid tools and limited visual feedback, leading to increased complexity and risk of infection, as well as longer recovery times due to the need for multiple incisions and ports.
Innovation Solution
A suspension system comprising an external frame with movable supports and elongated members that extend into the body cavity, featuring a reconfigurable internal platform with interconnecting links that can change from a linear to a non-linear configuration, allowing for improved instrument mobility and reduced port requirements.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Stability of the object's composition
If rigid tools are used for laparoscopic surgery, then structural stability is improved, but instrument mobility is worsened
Solution Approach 1:
The rigid internal platform is divided into multiple segments or links connected by joints, allowing each segment to move independently relative to others while maintaining overall structural stability. This segmentation enables the platform to adapt its configuration for better instrument mobility.
Solution Approach 2:
The system transitions from a completely rigid structure to a dynamically adjustable platform that can change its configuration. The platform includes movable joints and reconfigurable linkages that allow real-time adjustment of the internal structure to optimize instrument mobility during surgery.
2Ease of operation
If multiple ports and incisions are used for instrument insertion, then instrument accessibility is improved, but infection risk is worsened
Solution Approach 1:
Multiple instrument insertion paths are merged into a single port site. The reconfigurable internal platform allows different instruments to be inserted through one incision by adjusting the platform's configuration, eliminating the need for multiple separate incisions and reducing infection risk.
Solution Approach 2:
The reconfigurable internal platform acts as an intermediary mechanism that enables multiple instruments to share a single access port. By adjusting the platform's link configuration, different instruments can be routed through the same incision site, reducing the number of skin penetrations required.
3Adaptability or versatility
If multiple incisions are made for ports, then instrument placement flexibility is improved, but recovery time is worsened
Solution Approach 1:
The internal platform uses dynamic linkages and movable joints that allow it to reconfigure between different instrument placement configurations. This dynamic adaptability provides placement flexibility while maintaining a single incision site, thereby reducing recovery time compared to multiple fixed incisions.
Solution Approach 2:
The platform's geometric parameters (angles, positions, and configurations of links) can be changed during surgery to accommodate different instrument placement requirements. This parameter adjustability provides versatility in instrument placement while avoiding multiple incisions, leading to faster patient recovery.
Data Source
AI summary
A suspension system for supporting surgical devices inside a patient's body cavity comprising an external frame, a plurality of elongated members extending from the external frame and through the patient's skin into the body cavity, and an internal platform located inside the body cavity. The internal platform includes a plurality of links reconfigurable from a first elongated position wherein the links are substantially aligned along a longitudinal axis for insertion to a second position wherein the links are angled with respect to one another to form a non-linear configuration. A first support of the external frame is movable with respect to the second support to thereby move the internal platform.