Rotating Suturing Needle for Minimally Invasive Surgery
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Solution Overview
Problem
Minimally invasive surgery (MIS) poses challenges in suturing due to limited space, visualization, and mobility, making it difficult for surgeons to manipulate small needles and sutures accurately, with risks of accidental needle pricks and internal organ penetration.
Innovation Solution
A medical device with a suture head assembly that can be laterally articulated and a 'locomotive-type' drive mechanism allowing the suturing needle to rotate perpendicular to the device's axis, enabling precise control and visualization, and protecting the needle from direct handling to prevent accidents.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If manual suturing by hand is performed in minimally invasive surgery, then the surgeon can directly manipulate the needle and suture, but the surgeon faces limited space, limited visualization, and limited mobility making the task extremely difficult and risky
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a mechanical suturing device as an intermediary tool between the surgeon and the tissue. The device includes a needle driver with a rotating member that mechanically drives the curved needle through tissue, replacing direct manual manipulation. This intermediary mechanism enables precise needle control through small incisions while maintaining surgical effectiveness, resolving the contradiction between ease of operation and device complexity by providing a specialized tool designed specifically for minimally invasive suturing.
Solution Approach 2:
The suturing device is segmented into distinct functional components: a handle assembly, a needle driver with a rotating member, a curved needle, and a suture. The needle driver can be independently manipulated to rotate the needle through tissue, while the suture is separately managed. This segmentation allows each component to be optimized for its specific function, improving ease of operation while keeping the overall device manageable in complexity.
2Reliability
If a curved needle is used in manual suturing, then the needle can follow an arc path through tissue, but the surgeon must repeatedly grasp and release the needle, increasing risk of accidental needle pricks
Solution Approach 1:
The needle driver serves as an intermediary that maintains continuous grip on the curved needle throughout the suturing process. The rotating member of the needle driver engages with the needle, allowing the surgeon to drive the needle through tissue by rotating the driver rather than manually grasping and releasing the needle. This intermediary mechanism significantly reduces the risk of accidental needle sticks while maintaining precise control over the needle's arc path through the tissue.
3Object-affected harmful factors
If minimally invasive surgery is performed through small cannulas, then patient trauma is reduced, but the instruments become smaller and longer making precise manipulation difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The needle driver incorporates a rotating member that can dynamically change the orientation and position of the curved needle during insertion and manipulation. This dynamic capability allows the surgeon to navigate the needle through tissue at different angles and depths while keeping the main instrument body outside the small cannula. The dynamic rotation mechanism enables precise manipulation of the needle tip without requiring the entire instrument to be maneuverable within the constrained space, thus reducing patient trauma while maintaining ease of operation.
4Illumination intensity
If indirect two-dimensional video imaging is used in MIS, then visualization of the surgical site is achieved, but visualization of small needles and sutures becomes difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The curved needle in the patent is designed with a reflective coating or specific surface properties that enhance its visibility under surgical lighting and video imaging systems. The needle's surface may incorporate reflective elements or contrasting colors that make it stand out more clearly in two-dimensional video images, allowing the surgeon to better track the needle's position and orientation during minimally invasive suturing despite the limitations of indirect visualization.
Data Source
AI summary
An apparatus and method for minimally invasive suturing is disclosed. A suturing device for minimally invasive suturing includes proximal section having a proximal end, a distal end, and a longitudinal axis therebetween, a suture head assembly extending from the distal end of the proximal section; a suturing needle having a pointed end and a blunt end, the suturing needle capable of rotating about an axis approximately perpendicular to a longitudinal axis of the proximal section, wherein the pointed end of the suturing needle is positioned within the suture head assembly prior to and after rotation of the suturing needle, and an actuator extending from the proximal end of the proximal section to actuate a reciprocating needle drive having a needle driver for engaging and rotating the suturing needle.