Rotatable Robotic Surgical Tool for Skin Cutting and Pathway Creation
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing surgical procedures face challenges such as causing unnecessary tissue harm, prolonging procedure times, and making improperly sized incisions during minimal invasive surgeries due to inaccurate skin cutting and tissue pathway creation.
Innovation Solution
A robotic surgical tool that combines a blade for cutting and a blunt tip trocar with a dilator, allowing rotation between cutting and tissue pathway creation positions, equipped with sensors for precise control and insertion depth, to create a highly accurate pathway from the skin surface to a target site.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Manufacturing precision
If traditional surgical tools are used for skin cutting and tissue pathway creation, then the procedure can be performed, but tissue displacement occurs and precision is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The surgical tool is divided into functionally distinct segments: a cutting element for skin incision and a separate dilator element for tissue pathway creation. This segmentation allows each element to be optimized for its specific function, with the cutting element providing precise incisions and the dilator element minimizing tissue displacement during pathway creation.
Solution Approach 2:
The surgical tool incorporates dynamic elements including a rotatable component that allows switching between cutting and dilator modes, and an extendable dilator that can be deployed only when needed. This dynamic design enables precise control over when and how each function is executed, improving overall cutting precision while minimizing tissue displacement.
2Manufacturing precision
If multiple separate tools are used for cutting and tissue pathway creation, then each function can be optimized, but procedure time increases
Solution Approach 1:
The cutting element and dilator element are merged into a single integrated surgical tool assembly. This allows the surgeon to perform both skin cutting and tissue pathway creation with one tool, eliminating the need to switch between separate tools and thereby reducing procedure time while maintaining the precision benefits of specialized design.
Solution Approach 2:
The surgical tool is designed as a multi-functional device that can perform both cutting and tissue pathway creation functions. The rotatable component enables the tool to switch between its cutting configuration and its dilator configuration, providing universal functionality that reduces the number of tools needed and streamlines the surgical procedure.
3Ease of operation
If manual cutting and pathway creation are performed, then flexibility is maintained, but incision size control becomes imprecise
Solution Approach 1:
The surgical tool incorporates self-aligning and self-controlling features that automatically ensure precise incision sizing without requiring complex manual manipulation. The rigid dilator element and rotatable component are designed to self-position and self-regulate during use, providing consistent incision size control while maintaining ease of operation through intuitive mechanical controls.
Data Source
AI summary
A robotic surgical system according to at least one embodiment of the present disclosure includes a robot arm including a proximal end and a distal end and a surgical tool that attaches to the distal end of the robot arm via a robot mount flange on the surgical tool. The surgical tool includes a blade support tip that extends from a first end and a rod that extends from a second end opposite the first end. The rod may include a blunt tip end and an actuation end, where the blunt tip end extends from the second end. Accordingly, the surgical tool may be rotatable about a tool rotation axis between a cutting position disposing the blade support tip in proximity to a target site and a tissue pathway creation position disposing the blunt tip end in proximity to the target site.