Robotic Surgical Tool Replaceable Carriage Design
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current robotic surgical systems for minimally invasive procedures face challenges in providing intuitive and efficient control over end effectors, particularly in maintaining natural hand movements and accessing hard-to-reach spaces within the body.
Innovation Solution
A surgical tool design featuring a handle with a lead screw and extendable splines, a carriage with elevator and additional layers, and an end effector on an elongate shaft, allowing for articulation and actuation through a drive gear and activating mechanism, which is removably coupled to a stage portion, enabling precise and versatile movements.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If a robotic system uses motors and actuators to articulate the end effector, then the system can achieve precise control and multiple degrees of freedom in movement, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The surgical tool is divided into separable components: a handle assembly and an instrument assembly that can be removably coupled together. This segmentation allows the complex robotic control system to remain modular, where the handle with motors and actuators can be detached and replaced based on procedural needs, managing overall system complexity while maintaining precise control capabilities.
Solution Approach 2:
The carriage is designed to translate along the lead screw in response to rotational input, dynamically converting rotational motion from the motors into linear motion for precise positioning of the end effector. This dynamic mechanism enables accurate control while keeping the structural design relatively simple.
2Adaptability or versatility
If the surgical tool uses a wrist joint for articulation, then the system can access hard-to-reach spaces, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The instrument assembly featuring the wrist joint and end effector can be nested within or coupled to the handle assembly. This nested configuration allows the articulated wrist mechanism to be stored compactly when not in use and deployed when needed to access difficult anatomical spaces, providing versatility without permanently increasing structural complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The wrist joint provides dynamic articulation capability, allowing the end effector to achieve multiple degrees of freedom and access hard-to-reach spaces. The dynamic nature of the wrist joint enables it to adapt its configuration based on procedural requirements while maintaining a relatively simple fixed structure when in a neutral position.
3Ease of operation
If the surgical tool uses drive cables and mechanical mechanisms to manipulate the end effector, then the system can achieve natural hand-like movement, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
Traditional drive cables are replaced with a lead screw mechanism that directly translates rotational input from the handle into linear motion for positioning the end effector. This mechanical substitution eliminates the need for complex cable routing and tensioning systems, reducing mechanical complexity while maintaining intuitive hand-like movement control through direct mechanical coupling.
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
Enhances the ability to perform minimally invasive procedures with improved ease and precision, allowing for natural hand-like articulation and access to complex anatomical spaces, thereby improving surgical efficacy and reducing operator fatigue.
Implementation Method 1
a lead screw and at least one spline extendable between the first and second ends
Implementation Method 2
a drive gear coupled to the at least one spline and rotatable with rotation of the at least one spline
Data Source
AI summary
A robotic surgical tool comprises a handle having a first end and a second end, a lead screw and at least one spline extendable between the first and second ends of the handle, and a carriage movably mountable to the lead screw at a carriage nut. The carriage includes an elevator layer and one or more additional layers removably coupled to the elevator layer. An elongate shaft may be provided that extends distally from the one or more additional layers and penetrates the elevator layer and the first end when the one or more additional layers are coupled to the elevator layer. An end effector may be arranged at a distal end of the elongate shaft.