Surgical Stapler Buttress with Multi-Point Actuated Release
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Solution Overview
Problem
Surgical staplers lack a reliable mechanism to reinforce tissue fastening, leading to potential staple pull-through and tissue tearing at the application site, which can compromise the integrity of the surgical site.
Innovation Solution
Incorporating a buttress material with an adhesive layer on the end effector of surgical staplers to provide structural support and prevent staple pull-through, featuring a buttress assembly that includes a strong yet flexible material and a hemostatic agent to enhance tissue sealing.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If surgical staplers use traditional fastening mechanism without buttress material, then the device complexity is low, but the reliability of tissue fastening is insufficient leading to staple pull-through and tissue tearing
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies composite materials by combining buttress material with adhesive layers (including hemostatic agents) to create a multi-functional reinforcement structure. This composite construction provides both mechanical reinforcement to prevent staple pull-through and hemostatic properties to seal tissue, thereby improving tissue fastening reliability without requiring entirely new device architectures.
Solution Approach 2:
The buttress material acts as an intermediary element between the staples and the tissue. It distributes the mechanical load from the staples across a broader tissue area, preventing direct stress concentration that causes pull-through. The adhesive layers serve as additional intermediaries to secure the buttress material to both the stapler anvil and the tissue surface.
2Reliability
If surgical staplers incorporate buttress material with adhesive layers, then the structural reinforcement and hemostatic benefits are improved, but the ease of manufacture decreases due to multi-component assembly requirements
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges multiple functions into a single integrated buttress assembly component. The buttress material is pre-coated with adhesive layers containing hemostatic agents, combining structural reinforcement, tissue bonding, and hemostatic sealing functions into one unified component. This reduces the number of separate manufacturing steps and assembly operations required during surgical procedures.
Solution Approach 2:
The adhesive layers and hemostatic agents are pre-applied to the buttress material during manufacturing, rather than being applied separately during surgery. This preliminary action ensures proper adhesive distribution and hemostatic agent activation before the component reaches the surgical site, simplifying the surgical procedure while maintaining manufacturing feasibility.
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 buttress material effectively reduces the risk of tissue tearing and enhances the mechanical fastening of staples, providing structural reinforcement and hemostatic benefits to improve surgical outcomes.
Implementation Method 1
Incorporating a buttress material with an adhesive layer on the end effector of surgical staplers to provide structural support
Implementation Method 2
featuring a buttress assembly that includes a strong yet flexible material and a hemostatic agent to enhance tissue sealing
Data Source
AI summary
An apparatus includes a housing, a platform, a buttress assembly, at least one retainer member, and a lockout alignment feature. A portion of the platform is exposed in a gap defined by the housing. The buttress assembly is positioned on the platform. The buttress assembly is exposed in the gap defined by the housing. The at least one retainer member is configured to selectively retain the buttress assembly against the platform. The at least one retainer member is further configured to release the buttress assembly from the platform in response to a clamping action of an end effector positioned in the gap defined by the housing. The lockout alignment feature is configured to prevent the at least one retainer member from releasing the buttress assembly form the platform unless the end effector is located at a predetermined position in relation to the buttress assembly during clamping of the end effector.