Sterile Drape Pocket Interface for Single-Port Instrument Exchange
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current telerobotic surgical systems face challenges such as difficulty in accessing the single port during single port surgery, contamination of surgical manipulators, and inefficiencies in sterilization and instrument exchange.
Innovation Solution
The development of a sterile drape system with drape pockets and flexible membranes that interfaces with instrument manipulators, allowing for easy instrument exchange and maintaining a sterile environment, along with a robotic surgical system that includes a manipulator arm draped with a sterile drape to shield non-sterile components from the sterile field.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Weight of moving object
If a single port surgical system is used, then patient trauma is reduced and recovery is enhanced, but access to the single port during surgery becomes difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The surgical system transitions from traditional multi-port access requiring lateral movement to a single port system where all instruments converge at one entry point. The manipulator arm is designed with articulation capabilities that provide access to the surgical site through this single dimensional constraint, effectively adding rotational and articulation dimensions to overcome the limited linear access.
Solution Approach 2:
The manipulator arm is divided into multiple segments or links that can articulate independently. This segmentation allows each segment to contribute to the overall positioning capability, enabling the distal end to reach the single port entry point while maintaining the ability to exchange instruments without moving the base position.
2Ease of operation
If the manipulator arm is positioned adjacent the operation site, then instrument control is improved, but contamination of the manipulator occurs
Solution Approach 1:
The system is divided into sterile and non-sterile zones using a sterile drape. The drape creates a physical barrier that segments the manipulator arm into a non-sterile proximal portion and a sterile distal portion, allowing the manipulator to remain adjacent to the operation site for precise control while preventing contamination of the sterile field.
Solution Approach 2:
A sterile drape acts as an intermediary barrier between the non-sterile manipulator arm and the sterile surgical field. This intermediate element allows force and motion transmission while maintaining sterility, enabling the manipulator to control instruments without direct contact with the sterile environment.
3Reliability
If conventional sterilization methods are used on the manipulator, then sterility is achieved, but the servo motors and sensors are damaged
Solution Approach 1:
The sterile drape serves as an intermediary that transmits mechanical forces and motions from the non-sterile manipulator arm to the sterile surgical instruments without requiring sterilization of the manipulator itself. This mediator approach allows the sensitive electronics to remain protected while maintaining system sterility through the drape barrier.
Solution Approach 2:
The sterile field requirements are extracted from the manipulator arm and applied only to the surgical instruments and immediate surgical site. The manipulator arm remains in the non-sterile zone, with sterility achieved only where needed through the use of sterile drapes and sterile instruments, eliminating the need to subject the entire manipulator to damaging sterilization processes.
4Adaptability or versatility
If multiple instruments are used through a single port, then surgical capability is enhanced, but instrument exchange becomes inefficient
Solution Approach 1:
The manipulator arm incorporates dynamic articulation and positioning capabilities that allow rapid reconfiguration between different instruments. The articulated joints enable the distal end to be quickly repositioned and reoriented to accommodate different instrument geometries and insertion angles, reducing exchange time while maintaining versatility.
Solution Approach 2:
The manipulator arm is designed with universal articulation and positioning capabilities that can accommodate multiple different surgical instruments through the single port. The standardized interface and articulation mechanism allow the same manipulator to efficiently handle various instruments with different functions, enhancing surgical capability while maintaining efficient exchange procedures.
Data Source
AI summary
A drape includes a first drape portion configured to receive a manipulator arm of a surgical system and a pocket coupled to a distal portion of the first drape portion. The pocket is configured to receive a manipulator of the surgical system. The pocket includes a flexible membrane positionable between an output of the manipulator and an input of a surgical instrument mountable to the manipulator. In some embodiments, the flexible membrane is located at a distal end of the pocket. In some embodiments, the flexible membrane is configured to allow an actuating force to be transmitted from the output of the manipulator to the input of the surgical instrument. In some embodiments, the pocket provides a sterile barrier between the manipulator and the surgical instrument. In some embodiments, the drape further includes a rotatable seal configured to couple a proximal opening of the pocket to the first drape portion.