Re-joinable Medical Device Housings with Sacrificial Joints
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Solution Overview
Problem
Limited use medical devices, such as harmonic tissue cutters, are often designed with non-separable housings that require destructive disassembly for refurbishment, leading to increased costs and reduced cost-effectiveness of refurbishment processes.
Innovation Solution
The medical devices incorporate housings with sacrificial joints that can be broken and re-made, allowing for the separation and rejoining of housing portions during refurbishment, thereby enabling cost-effective refurbishment without the need for replacing the housings.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Manufacturing precision
If housings are designed with non-separable joints for initial manufacturing, then manufacturing precision and structural integrity are improved, but ease of repair and refurbishment cost are worsened
Solution Approach 1:
The housing joint is segmented into multiple portions (first housing portion, second housing portion, third housing portion) where the sacrificial portion can be selectively removed. This segmentation allows the joint to function as both a strong initial connection and a separable structure for refurbishment, resolving the contradiction between manufacturing precision and ease of repair.
Solution Approach 2:
The sacrificial portion is extracted as a separate, removable element from the housing joint structure. This extracted portion serves as a temporary connector during initial assembly but can be removed during refurbishment, allowing the housing to be separated and reassembled without destroying the main housing structures, thus reducing refurbishment costs while maintaining initial manufacturing integrity.
2Reliability
If housings are designed as single-use non-separable structures, then device reliability is improved, but loss of substance and environmental impact are worsened
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of discarding the entire housing after single use, the design allows for selective discarding of only the sacrificial portion while recovering and reusing the main housing portions (first and second housing portions). This enables refurbishment and extends device lifespan, reducing medical waste while maintaining reliability through proper disposal of contaminated sacrificial materials.
3Ease of operation
If sacrificial joints are used for easy separation, then ease of operation is improved, but strength of the joint is worsened
Solution Approach 1:
Different portions of the joint have different qualities: the sacrificial portion is designed with lower strength and specific geometric features (protrusions, recesses, breaking features) that enable easy separation, while the main housing portions maintain high strength for structural integrity. This local differentiation resolves the contradiction between ease of separation and joint strength.
Data Source
AI summary
A medical device includes at least two housing portions joined together at at least one sacrificial joint, wherein each housing portion comprises at least one secondary joining portion configured for joining to at least one corresponding secondary joining portion of at least one other housing portion for rejoining the two housing portions together after destructive breaking of the at least one sacrificial joint.