Removable Attachment Interface for Surgical Power Tool Hygiene
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Current surgical instruments, particularly battery-operated motorized tools in orthopedic procedures, face issues with inadequate cleaning and sterilization leading to increased infection risks and high maintenance costs, with reusable instruments degrading in performance after reprocessing and hospitals lacking proper training and resources for maintenance.
Innovation Solution
A reusable medical procedure power tool design featuring a removable attachment interface and replaceable cover that allows for easy disassembly, cleaning, and sterilization of external components, reducing the need for extensive internal maintenance and improving instrument hygiene.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Quantity of substance
If surgical instruments are made reusable with complex internal components, then cost of acquisition is reduced, but cleaning and sterilization becomes inadequate leading to infection risks
Solution Approach 1:
The power tool is divided into separable components: a reusable power tool body and removable attachments (chucks, drill bits, saw blades, reamers). This segmentation allows the attachments to be easily removed for cleaning and sterilization, while the power tool body remains reusable, resolving the contradiction between reducing acquisition costs through reusability and maintaining cleaning adequacy.
Solution Approach 2:
The removable attachments are extracted as separate components from the power tool body. These attachments can be taken out for dedicated cleaning and sterilization processes, ensuring they meet hygiene requirements while the power tool body can be reused without extensive internal cleaning, thus resolving the contradiction between cost reduction and cleaning adequacy.
2Ease of manufacture
If surgical instruments are made reusable, then maintenance costs are reduced, but performance degrades after reprocessing
Solution Approach 1:
By segmenting the tool into a durable power tool body and replaceable attachments, the design allows the main body to be reused multiple times with minimal maintenance, while attachments can be replaced or reprocessed as needed, maintaining overall performance without degrading the core reusable components.
Solution Approach 2:
The design allows attachments to be discarded or reprocessed separately from the main power tool body. This enables recovery and reuse of the expensive power tool components while managing attachments through replacement or dedicated reprocessing cycles, maintaining performance while reducing maintenance costs.
3Reliability
If hospitals perform extensive internal maintenance, then instrument cleanliness is improved, but time and resources are consumed
Solution Approach 1:
The removable attachments can be easily separated from the power tool body and processed through cleaning and sterilization protocols. This segmentation enables focused cleaning of only the necessary components (attachments) rather than extensive disassembly and cleaning of the entire tool, reducing maintenance time while ensuring instrument cleanliness.
4Reliability
If removable attachments are designed for easy cleaning, then sterilization effectiveness is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The attachment interface is designed as a simple, standardized connection mechanism that enables easy separation of attachments from the power tool body. This simple segmentation allows attachments to be readily removed for sterilization without complex disassembly procedures, improving sterilization effectiveness while maintaining low device complexity.
Data Source
AI summary
A reusable medical procedure power too includes a housing having an aperture. A removable attachment interface is connected to the power tool via the aperture. The attachment interface provides for receiving a power tool attachment. A removable and replaceable cover is provided on the entire housing, and the cover includes a single opening aligned with and immediately adjacent to the aperture.