Staple Cartridge Extensions for Slippery Tissue Control
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current surgical stapling instruments face challenges in effectively stapling and transecting tissue, particularly with slippery tissues that tend to move relative to the jaw members, leading to incomplete stapling and tissue loss during the procedure.
Innovation Solution
The surgical stapling instrument incorporates a staple cartridge with ridges extending from the cartridge body that compress and control the tissue, preventing movement by pre-compressing it between the anvil and the cartridge deck, ensuring stable stapling and transection.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If traditional staple cartridges without extensions are used, then the device complexity is low, but the tissue stability during stapling is insufficient for slippery tissues
Solution Approach 1:
The cartridge body is segmented into multiple functional regions including a proximal extension and a distal extension. These extensions are distinct structural segments that protrude from the main cartridge body, each serving specific functions for tissue engagement and stabilization during the stapling process.
Solution Approach 2:
The extensions are equipped with tissue engagement features such as ridges or teeth at specific locations (proximal and distal ends) that provide localized gripping action. This allows the cartridge to engage slippery tissues at multiple points, enhancing local tissue stability without requiring the entire cartridge structure to be complex.
2Ease of operation
If extensions with tissue engagement features are added to the cartridge, then the tissue control is improved, but the manufacturing complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The proximal extension, distal extension, and main cartridge body are formed as a single integrated component. This merging of multiple functional elements into one piece reduces the number of assembly steps and simplifies manufacturing processes, despite the increased structural complexity required for effective tissue control.
3Manufacturing precision
If the cartridge extensions are designed to engage tissue at multiple points, then the stapling completeness is improved, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The tissue engagement features are arranged in multiple dimensions along the longitudinal axis of the cartridge, with proximal and distal extensions positioned at opposite ends. This multi-dimensional arrangement ensures that slippery tissues are engaged and stabilized at multiple points simultaneously, improving stapling completeness without requiring excessive complexity in the overall device configuration.
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 ridges on the staple cartridge body enhance tissue stability, preventing slipping and ensuring complete stapling and transection, even with slippery tissues, by pre-compressing and controlling tissue movement, thereby improving the surgical outcome.
Implementation Method 1
ridges extending from the cartridge body that compress and control the tissue, preventing movement by pre-compressing it between the anvil and the cartridge deck
Data Source
AI summary
A fastener cartridge can include, one, a cartridge body comprising a deck and a plurality of fastener cavities and, two, a plurality of fasteners positioned in the fastener cavities. The cartridge body can further comprise extensions extending from the deck having different sizes and/or configurations. The extensions can control the flow of tissue relative to the deck and/or support the fasteners as they are ejected from the fastener cavities.