Retractable Metal Wire Loop for Minimally Invasive Surgery
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Solution Overview
Problem
Surgical instruments with metal wire loops face challenges in minimally invasive surgeries due to protruding wire sections that can cause injuries and lack of compactness, limiting their use in delicate procedures.
Innovation Solution
A surgical instrument with a hollow tube shaft and a metal wire that can move along its axis, forming a bipolar instrument with a working section that can retract completely, featuring a shape memory alloy for adjustable loop formation and insulation to prevent short circuits, allowing for a compact and safe design suitable for minimally invasive procedures.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If the metal wire projects out of the shaft on the distal end to form a working section, then the instrument can perform tissue manipulation and coagulation functions, but the protruding wire section creates injury risk and lacks compactness for minimally invasive surgery
Solution Approach 1:
The metal wire is designed to be movable along the longitudinal axis of the shaft, transitioning between a retracted position (fully inside the shaft) and a deployed position (projecting out to form a loop). This dynamic configuration allows the wire to be compact during insertion while functional during operation, eliminating the permanent protrusion that causes injury risk.
Solution Approach 2:
The metal wire is nested within the hollow tube shaft when not in use, with only the necessary working section protruding when needed. The wire passes through the shaft and can be retracted completely inside, creating a compact configuration that minimizes protrusions at the distal end for safe minimally invasive surgery.
2Volume of moving object
If the metal wire is made movable along the shaft axis to enable retraction, then compactness and safety are improved, but the mechanism complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The metal wire utilizes its own flexibility and the natural geometry of the hollow tube shaft to enable movement. The wire can be pushed or pulled along the shaft axis without requiring complex external actuation mechanisms, as the shaft itself provides the guiding and constraining structure necessary for controlled movement and retraction.
3Adaptability or versatility
If the working section forms a loop with adjustable size, then versatility for different surgical applications is improved, but the structural complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The loop formed by the metal wire working section is designed to be dynamically adjustable in size. The wire can be manipulated to create loops of varying diameters depending on the surgical requirements, allowing the same instrument to handle different tissue types and surgical procedures without requiring multiple specialized instruments.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The instrument provides a safe and flexible solution for minimally invasive surgeries by minimizing protrusions, enabling precise tissue manipulation and coagulation while maintaining a compact, injury-free distal end, with adjustable loop sizes and shapes for various surgical needs.
Implementation Method 1
at least the working section, preferably the metal wire, is made from a shape memory alloy, for example, from nitinol. This allows the desired shape of the working section to be achieved in a simple way, for example, the shape of an angled hook or a loop, when the working section is pushed out from the shaft on the distal end.
Data Source
AI summary
A surgical instrument with a shaft is constructed as a hollow tube and has a longitudinal axis, proximal and distal ends and a metal wire having a first end section, a shaft section and a working section. The first end section is arranged in the area of the proximal end of the shaft or is guided out of the shaft on the proximal end. The shaft section is guided in the hollow tube and the wire is arranged such that it can move along the longitudinal axis of the shaft into a first position of the working section on the distal end projecting out of the shaft and into a second position of the working section within the shaft. The instrument is constructed as a bipolar instrument, wherein the metal wire is part of a first electrode and a second electrode is arranged in some sections on the shaft.