Robotic Cannula Access Caps for Stable Pneumoperitoneum
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing robotic surgical systems face challenges in maintaining stable pneumoperitoneum during robotically assisted laparoscopic procedures due to the need for mechanical seals, which can restrict instrument movement and lead to gas leakage.
Innovation Solution
A gas circulation system with a multi-lumen tube set and dual lumen access caps that include a valve sealed access cap and a gas sealed access cap, featuring O-rings, flexible clips, and sound attenuating foam, to facilitate gas recirculation and maintain stable pressure without mechanical seals.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If mechanical seals are used to seal around surgical instruments, then gas leakage is prevented, but instrument movement is restricted
Solution Approach 1:
The patent removes the mechanical seal component entirely from the system. Instead of using mechanical seals to prevent gas leakage, the invention uses a gas-permeable membrane that allows gas to pass through while maintaining the seal, thereby eliminating the restriction on instrument movement that mechanical seals impose.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces the mechanical sealing system with a gas-permeable membrane system. The membrane uses its selective permeability properties rather than mechanical contact to achieve sealing, substituting a physical-chemical mechanism for a mechanical one, thus allowing free instrument movement while maintaining gas containment.
2Reliability
If mechanical seals are used to maintain pneumoperitoneum, then gas leakage is reduced, but gas recirculation efficiency decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces mechanical seals with a gas-permeable membrane that enables active gas recirculation. The membrane allows insufflation gas to pass through to the abdominal cavity while permitting the recirculation system to efficiently manage gas flow, improving productivity by enabling continuous gas monitoring and recirculation without mechanical interference.
Solution Approach 2:
The gas-permeable membrane enables continuous gas exchange and recirculation. The system can continuously monitor gas flow and maintain pneumoperitoneum pressure while allowing uninterrupted recirculation of insufflation gas, ensuring continuous useful action without the interruptions that mechanical seals may cause.
3Reliability
If conventional trocars with mechanical valves are used, then gas sealing is achieved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts and removes the complex mechanical valve components from the trocar structure. The gas-permeable membrane provides sealing functionality without requiring the complex mechanical assemblies of conventional trocars, thereby simplifying the overall device structure while maintaining gas sealing capability.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent uses a gas-permeable membrane, which is a thin film structure, to replace the bulky mechanical valve assembly. This thin film approach to sealing dramatically reduces device complexity while maintaining the essential gas containment function, aligning with the principle of using flexible shells and thin films for simplified design.
4Reliability
If mechanical seals are used at the access cap, then gas leakage is prevented, but noise from gas flow increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces mechanical seals with a gas-permeable membrane that allows gas to flow through it quietly. The membrane's porous structure enables smooth gas passage without the turbulence and noise generation that occur at mechanical seal interfaces, thereby reducing the harmful noise factor while maintaining gas containment.
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 system ensures efficient gas recirculation and pressure maintenance, reducing gas leakage and noise, while allowing unrestricted instrument movement during surgical procedures.
Implementation Method 1
The outer O-ring is positioned between the outer housing portion and the proximal bowl portion of the robotic cannula to provide frictional engagement and prevent gas leakage therebetween
Implementation Method 2
A sound attenuating foam is positioned within the gas sealed access cap proximal to the annular jet assembly
Implementation Method 3
a pressurized gas line for delivering insufflation gas to the surgical cavity of the patient
Implementation Method 4
a return gas line for facilitating gas recirculation relative to the surgical cavity of the patient
Implementation Method 5
a gas supply and sensing line for delivering insufflation gas to the surgical cavity of the patient and for periodically sensing pressure within the surgical cavity of the patient
Data Source
AI summary
A gas circulation system is disclosed for performing robotically assisted surgical procedures in a surgical cavity of a patient, which includes a multi-lumen tube set including a dual lumen portion having a pressurized gas line and a return gas line, and a single lumen portion having a gas supply and sensing line, a valve sealed access cap for cooperative reception with a first robotic cannula and having an inlet path for communicating with the gas supply and sensing line of the tube set, and a gas sealed access cap for cooperative reception with a second robotic cannula and having an inlet path for communicating with the pressurized gas line of the tube set and an outlet path for communicating with the return gas line of the tube set.