Surgical Stapling Apparatus Clamp and Deploy Mechanisms
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Solution Overview
Problem
Minimally-invasive surgical procedures face challenges in effective suturing due to restricted access through small access ports, making traditional suturing difficult or impossible, and alternatives are needed to maintain the benefits of minimally-invasive surgery.
Innovation Solution
A surgical stapling apparatus with a mode selection switch mechanism that allows for clamping and deployment phases, featuring a clamp member for tissue preparation and a deployment member for stapling and cutting, enabling efficient surgical procedures through a long slim shaft with a flexible articulated distal-end.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If traditional suturing tools are used, then suturing function can be performed, but the access port size must be large which eliminates minimally-invasive benefits
Solution Approach 1:
The instrument is divided into separate functional modules including a shaft, end effector with jaws, clamp mechanism, and firing mechanism. This segmentation allows the instrument to pass through small access ports while maintaining full suturing functionality at the distal end.
Solution Approach 2:
The end effector components are nested within the shaft structure, with the jaws, anvil, and staple cartridge arranged in a compact configuration that allows them to be inserted through small access ports while still providing adequate working space for suturing operations.
2Object-affected harmful factors
If access ports are made small for minimally-invasive surgery, then patient trauma is reduced, but effective suturing becomes difficult or impossible
Solution Approach 1:
The invention replaces the traditional mechanical suturing system with a streamlined mechanism that uses a clamp member to secure tissue and a firing member to deploy staples or perform cutting, eliminating the need for complex manual knot-tying through small ports.
Solution Approach 2:
The instrument changes the operational parameters by providing fixed, pre-configured jaw dimensions and firing mechanisms that are optimized for minimally-invasive access, allowing effective tissue manipulation and suturing through small 2-3mm access ports.
3Area of moving object
If a long slim shaft is used for minimally-invasive access, then access port size is reduced, but control precision for clamping and deployment becomes more difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The instrument incorporates dynamic control mechanisms including springs for automatic jaw closure, cam mechanisms for precise firing activation, and articulated distal ends that provide natural movement and feedback to the operator, maintaining control precision despite the long shaft configuration.
Solution Approach 2:
The instrument uses intermediary mechanical elements such as transmission cables, gears, and levers that transfer and amplify the operator's input forces from the handle to the distal end, ensuring precise control of clamping and deployment actions even through a long shaft.
Data Source
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AI summary
A surgical stapling apparatus configured to perform stapling and/or cutting operations on a target tissue of a patient. The surgical stapling apparatus comprises of a mode selection switch to place the apparatus in either a clamping operational phase or a deployment operational phase. In the clamping operational phase, various clamp components are operated to facilitate loading of surgical staples into the stapling apparatus, if not preloaded, placement of the stapling apparatus to a target surgical site, and clamping of target tissue to be stapled and/or cut. In the deployment operational phase, various deployment components are operated to staple and/or cut the target tissue to one or more desired distance intervals to achieve the desired outcome for the surgical procedure.