Self-anchoring surgical access port with modular inserts
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing surgical access devices for minimally invasive procedures require anchoring sutures, which cause trauma, complexity, and obstructions, and often necessitate multiple access ports for instruments like cameras and lighting, complicating the surgical process.
Innovation Solution
A surgical access port with convex and concave anchoring regions, along with optional protuberances and an insufflation conduit, secures itself to the abdominal wall without sutures, integrating or modularly attaching accessories like cameras and lighting, reducing the number of access ports needed.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If anchoring sutures are used to secure the trocar, then the trocar can be fixed to the abdominal wall, but patient trauma increases and procedural complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The invention extracts and eliminates the anchoring suture component from the surgical system. Instead of using separate sutures to secure the trocar, the trocar body itself incorporates anchoring features (barbs, fins, or interlocking structures) that directly engage with the abdominal wall tissue, removing the need for additional suture material and procedures.
Solution Approach 2:
The trocar becomes self-anchoring through integrated mechanical features on its body. The anchoring structures are built into the trocar design, allowing it to secure itself to the abdominal wall without requiring external anchoring elements like sutures. The trocar performs both its primary function of providing access and its anchoring function through a single integrated device.
2Adaptability or versatility
If multiple access ports are used for instruments, then all necessary instruments can be introduced, but device complexity and procedural complexity increase
Solution Approach 1:
The trocar is designed as a multi-functional device that combines multiple previously separate functions into a single access port. It simultaneously provides: (1) mechanical access to the abdominal cavity, (2) insufflation capability through integrated gas delivery, (3) anchoring through built-in structures, and (4) support for multiple surgical instruments through its design features. This eliminates the need for multiple separate access ports.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention merges several separate surgical access components into a single integrated trocar device. The anchoring features, insufflation conduit, and instrument access pathways are combined into one unified structure, replacing what previously required multiple separate ports and devices.
3Reliability
If anchoring sutures are used, then the trocar can be secured, but procedural time and complexity increase
Solution Approach 1:
The anchoring features are pre-integrated into the trocar body during manufacturing, before the surgical procedure begins. The barbs, fins, or interlocking structures are already in place on the trocar, eliminating the need for time-consuming suture placement procedures during surgery. The anchoring capability is prepared in advance as part of the device itself.
Data Source
AI summary
An access port is disclosed for use in minimally invasive surgical procedures performed within a patient's abdominal cavity, which includes a body defining a bore configured to guide at least one surgical instrument into the abdominal cavity, and concave and convex anchoring regions for securing the access port relative to the abdominal cavity.