Surgical Instrument Access Verification to Block Unauthorized Control
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Solution Overview
Problem
The challenge of ensuring appropriate access control and preventing inadvertent activation of surgical instruments by healthcare professionals during surgical procedures, which can lead to surgical site infections and inefficiencies, is not adequately addressed by existing systems.
Innovation Solution
A computer-implemented method and system that identifies surgical instruments and detects control inputs by healthcare professionals, determining their access control levels and authorizing or blocking their control inputs based on these levels, with adjustments made based on proximity, surgical steps, instrument energized states, and biomarker measurements.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If access control verification is implemented for surgical instruments, then surgical safety is improved by preventing inadvertent activation, but device complexity increases due to access control level determination and verification mechanisms
Solution Approach 1:
The system introduces an intermediary access control verification mechanism that mediates between the healthcare professional and the surgical instrument. The processor acts as an intermediary, receiving control inputs, verifying access control levels, and only allowing authorized inputs to reach the instrument, thus preventing inadvertent activation while maintaining system reliability
Solution Approach 2:
The system performs preliminary access control verification before allowing control inputs to affect the surgical instrument. By determining the healthcare professional's access control level in advance and comparing it against required authorization levels, the system prevents unauthorized or inadvertent activation before it can occur
2Reliability
If tiered access control levels are implemented for different control functions, then surgical safety is improved by restricting critical functions, but ease of operation decreases due to multiple access level requirements
Solution Approach 1:
The system applies local quality by implementing different access control requirements for different functions of the surgical instrument. Critical functions such as activation and energy level adjustment require higher access control levels, while less critical functions have lower requirements, allowing appropriate restriction without unnecessarily complicating overall operation
3Reliability
If real-time access control verification is performed for each control input, then surgical safety is improved by preventing inadvertent control, but productivity decreases due to verification delays
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary access control verification by determining the healthcare professional's access control level in advance and storing this information for quick reference. When control inputs are received, the system compares the input against pre-determined authorization levels rather than performing full verification each time, reducing verification delays while maintaining safety
Data Source
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AI summary
A computing system may identify a surgical instrument for a surgical procedure in an operating room (OR). The computing system may detect a control input by a health care professional (HCP) to control the surgical instrument. The computing system may determine the HCP's access control level associated with the surgical instrument. The computing system may determine whether the HCP has an authorization to control the surgical instrument. If the computing system determines that HCP is unauthorized to control the surgical instrument based on the access control level associated with the HCP, the computing system may block the control input by the HCP. If the computing system determines that the HCP is authorized to control the surgical instrument based on the access control level associated with the HCP, the computing system may effectuate the control input by the HCP to control the surgical instrument.