Deployable Superelastic Blade for Spinal Tissue Dissection
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current electrosurgical techniques for tissue ablation in minimally invasive procedures, such as spinal stenosis treatment, face challenges in fine dissection of soft tissue due to wide device tips causing collateral tissue damage and obscuring the surgical field, leading to inefficiencies and instability post-surgery.
Innovation Solution
A surgical system employing a formed deployable superelastic blade with a cutting tip and RF energy emission, coupled with suction and irrigation, allows precise cutting and tissue removal with reduced collateral damage, enabling finer dissection and improved visualization.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Manufacturing precision
If conventional electrosurgical techniques are used for tissue ablation, then tissue removal is achieved, but collateral tissue damage occurs and fine dissection precision is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The electrosurgical device is divided into multiple functional components: a narrow active electrode tip for precise energy delivery, a separate grounding element, and an insulated shaft. This segmentation allows the active tip to be extremely narrow for fine dissection while the grounding element can be larger, preventing collateral damage through controlled current flow paths.
Solution Approach 2:
The device concentrates RF energy delivery to a very narrow region at the active electrode tip where tissue ablation is needed, while the surrounding areas receive minimal energy exposure. The insulation on the shaft and controlled grounding ensure that harmful electrical effects are localized only to the intended target site, preserving surrounding healthy tissue.
2Productivity
If wide device tips are used for tissue ablation, then tissue removal is achieved, but surgical field visualization is obscured
Solution Approach 1:
The device separates the energy delivery function (concentrated at the narrow active tip) from the structural support functions (handled by the insulated shaft and grounding elements). This allows the active working end to remain narrow for good visualization while maintaining adequate tissue removal capability through controlled RF energy application.
Solution Approach 2:
The device replaces wide mechanical cutting structures with a narrow electrosurgical electrode that achieves tissue removal through RF energy rather than mechanical contact. This substitution allows for a much narrower device tip that does not obstruct the surgical field view while maintaining effective tissue ablation through energy-based cutting and coagulation.
3Ease of operation
If extensive resection is performed to achieve adequate surgical visualization, then surgical access is improved, but spinal stability is compromised
Solution Approach 1:
The device enables extraction and removal of only the specific pathological tissue (ligamentum flavum) through a minimally invasive percutaneous approach, avoiding the need for extensive resection of healthy stabilizing structures. The narrow electrode tip allows precise targeting of the hypertrophied ligament while leaving the posterior spinal elements intact.
Solution Approach 2:
The device uses a percutaneous access needle and stylet as intermediaries to deliver the electrosurgical electrode to the target tissue through small incisions. This intermediary approach provides adequate surgical access to the ligamentum flavum without requiring wide muscular dissection and retraction, thereby preserving spinal stability while achieving the necessary surgical exposure.
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 system enables precise debulking of hypertrophied ligamentum flavum with reduced tissue damage and improved surgical precision, addressing the limitations of existing electrosurgical methods by providing a more controlled and efficient tissue removal process.
Implementation Method 1
A formed deployable superelastic blade with a cutting tip... The inner member is movable between a first orientation in which the cutting tip is disposed within the first passageway and the inner member has a linear configuration and a second orientation in which the cutting tip extends through the opening and the inner member has an arcuate configuration
Implementation Method 2
Electrosurgical procedures using radio frequency (RF) energy... Radio frequency energy controls bleeding by coagulating small blood vessels... At the point of contact of the electric arcs with tissue, rapid tissue heating occurs due to high current density between the electrode and tissue
Implementation Method 3
The second end of the inner member is also coupled to a suction source to provide suction through the opening and into the second passageway
Implementation Method 4
The inner member is movable between a first orientation in which the cutting tip is disposed within the first passageway... The second end of the inner member is also coupled to an irrigation source to deliver irrigation fluid through the second passageway and the opening
Data Source
AI summary
A device includes an outer member extending along a longitudinal axis between a first end and a second end. The first end includes an opening. The outer member includes an inner surface defining a first passageway that is in communication with the opening. An inner member is movably disposed in the first passageway. The inner member includes an inner surface defining a second passageway. The inner member further includes a first end including a cutting tip. The inner member is movable between a first orientation in which the cutting tip is disposed within the first passageway and the inner member has a linear configuration and a second orientation in which the cutting tip extends through the opening and the inner member has an arcuate configuration. Methods of use are provided.