Reusable Surgical Stapler with Disposable Cartridge
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current surgical fastener applying apparatus are either disposable and costly due to the need for single-use components or overly complex and difficult to sterilize when designed for reusability.
Innovation Solution
A surgical fastener applying apparatus with reusable components, including a clamping half-section and a cartridge receiving half-section, where the disposable firing assembly and single-use loading unit are designed for easy replacement and sterilization, allowing for efficient and safe reuse.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If surgical fastener applying apparatus are designed as disposable to ensure proper sterilization, then sterilization reliability is improved, but device complexity and cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
The apparatus is divided into two distinct segments: a reusable main body (stapler) and a disposable cartridge assembly. The reusable portion includes the anvil, while the disposable portion includes the cartridge containing staples and the firing mechanism. This segmentation allows the critical sterilization components to be disposable while the expensive main body can be reused after sterilization.
Solution Approach 2:
The firing assembly is extracted as a separate disposable component that can be removed and replaced. The firing assembly includes the cam bar, slide block, and associated mechanisms that come into contact with tissue and fasteners. By extracting this component, the reusable portion does not need to be completely disposable while maintaining sterilization reliability.
2Ease of manufacture
If surgical fastener applying apparatus are designed as reusable to reduce costs, then cost is reduced, but sterilization difficulty increases
Solution Approach 1:
The apparatus is segmented into reusable and disposable portions, allowing the reusable main body to be sterilized using standard autoclaving procedures while the disposable cartridge eliminates the need to sterilize components that come into direct contact with tissue and fasteners.
Solution Approach 2:
The cartridge assembly and firing assembly are designed as disposable, single-use components that are discarded after one use. This eliminates the need to sterilize these specific components, reducing the overall sterilization burden on the reusable portions while maintaining patient safety.
3Object-affected harmful factors
If disposable components are used to ensure safety, then contamination risk is reduced, but operational cost increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system is segmented into high-value reusable components (anvil, main body) and low-value disposable components (cartridge, firing assembly). The disposable components are designed to be inexpensive enough that their repeated replacement does not significantly increase operational costs, while effectively eliminating contamination risk.
Solution Approach 2:
The disposable cartridge and firing assembly are discarded after single use, while the expensive reusable main body is recovered and sterilized for subsequent uses. This approach recovers the high-value components while discarding the low-value components that pose contamination risks.
Data Source
AI summary
The present disclosure relates to a surgical fastener applying apparatus (10) for sequentially applying fasteners to body tissue. The apparatus includes a clamping half-section (12) having a distal anvil attachment portion (12b) and a proximal handle portion (12a), a cartridge receiving half-section (14) having a handle portion (22) and an elongated channel portion (24), the elongated channel portion being configured to releasably receive a single use loading unit and the handle portion being configured to releasably receive a firing assembly (20), an anvil member (16) configured to be releasably supported within the distal anvil attachment portion of the clamping half-section and a firing assembly configured to be releasably supported within the handle portion of the cartridge receiving half-section.