Sterile Piston Pump Transport Device for Water-Jet Surgery
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing devices for water-jet surgery struggle with maintaining sterility of the fluid, requiring frequent filter changes and limiting fluid usage due to fixed reservoir sizes, and fail to provide rapid pressure build-up and constant flow, disrupting surgical procedures.
Innovation Solution
A transport device with a piston pump system featuring overlapping suction and output cycles, allowing for continuous flow and constant pressure, and constructed as a disposable unit for easy sterilization, eliminating the need for storage vessels and reducing maintenance efforts.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a previously prepared cartridge is used to contain the fluid medium, then sterility is ensured, but the residue must be discarded and the maximal size of the reservoir is determined by device dimensions
Solution Approach 1:
The pump system is divided into sterile components (pump chamber, conduits) that can be separated from non-sterile components (drive means). This segmentation allows the sterile fluid path to be independently managed, enabling complete fluid utilization without discarding residues while maintaining sterility through the sealed pump chamber design.
Solution Approach 2:
The pump chamber and conduits are designed as disposable sterile units that can be replaced. This allows the system to use larger reservoirs without worrying about sterilizing the entire system, as only the disposable sterile components need replacement. The disposable nature enables complete fluid utilization since the entire sterile path is replaced rather than cleaned.
2Reliability
If the reservoir is pressurized as a whole, then sterility is maintained, but there is a dependence on the sizes that are available for the reservoir
Solution Approach 1:
The system separates the pressurization function from the reservoir. The pump chamber acts as an independent pressurization unit that can handle any reservoir size. This segmentation allows reservoirs of any size to be used without compromising sterility, as the sterile seal is maintained at the pump interface rather than requiring the entire reservoir system to be sterilizable.
Solution Approach 2:
The pump chamber serves as an intermediary between the reservoir and the surgical instrument. It provides the sterile barrier and pressurization function, allowing flexible reservoir sizes to be used while maintaining sterility. The intermediary isolates the sterile field from the variable-sized reservoir.
3Reliability
If sterile filters are inserted to filter out germs, then sterility is maintained, but maintenance effort is increased and flow behavior is inhibited
Solution Approach 1:
The sterile filter is extracted from the fluid path and replaced by the sealed pump chamber system. The pump chamber itself acts as the sterile barrier, eliminating the need for separate filters. This removes the maintenance burden of filter replacement while maintaining sterility through the sealed, disposable pump unit.
Solution Approach 2:
Instead of maintaining reusable filters, the entire pump chamber is designed as a disposable sterile unit. This eliminates ongoing maintenance effort for filter replacement while ensuring sterility. The low cost of the disposable pump unit makes this economically viable.
4Reliability
If sterile filters are used at high pressures, then sterility is maintained, but rapid pressure build-up is interfered with due to flow inhibition
Solution Approach 1:
The filter is removed from the high-pressure fluid path and replaced by the direct sealed connection in the pump chamber. This eliminates flow resistance that would slow pressure build-up, while maintaining sterility through the sealed disposable pump unit designed for high-pressure operation.
5Volume of moving object
If a small device is desired, then device size is reduced, but the reservoir must be exchanged during operation
Solution Approach 1:
The system allows dynamic adjustment of reservoir size based on surgical needs. Large reservoirs can be used with small devices since the pump chamber handles pressurization independently. This eliminates the need to exchange reservoirs during surgery, as the small device footprint does not constrain the reservoir size when using the disposable pump chamber system.
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
Ensures complete sterility and improved usability by providing a continuous, constant flow with rapid pressure build-up, reducing the need for frequent reservoir changes and simplifying maintenance, while allowing for flexible fluid management during surgical procedures.
Implementation Method 1
a piston pump or similar volumetrically transporting pump, with a suction cycle to draw the medium in and an output cycle to eject the medium
Implementation Method 2
The sterility of the fluid must be ensured, because it not only comes into contact with a patient's body but also to some extent remains in the body
Data Source
AI summary
For water-jet surgery pump devices are known by means of which a sterile fluid is transported through a reservoir to the surgical instrument by means of piston pumps or similar volumetrically transporting pumps. In accordance with the present invention it is proposed either to construct drive means for the pumps in such a way that their suction cycle is shorter than the output cycle, or to provide a pump with at least three pump chambers and to construct the drive means in such a way that the suction and output cycles of the pump chambers overlap one another.