Teleoperated Surgical Arm Mounting with Adjustable Clamp
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing teleoperated surgical systems face challenges with limited movability, portability, and stability due to the significant mass of components, which can lead to vibration issues during procedures, and require costly and complex setups that may not fit smaller operating rooms.
Innovation Solution
A modular surgical system architecture with a mounting device that includes a coupler and support member for securing teleoperated surgical arms to operating tables, allowing for adjustable and removable attachment to side rails, and optional auxiliary rails for increased stability, along with ports for transportable mediums.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Stability of the object's composition
If teleoperated surgical arms are mounted to operating table rails, then the system achieves fixed positioning and stability, but the rails may not provide sufficient stiffness to minimize vibration
Solution Approach 1:
The mounting system is divided into separate functional components: a clamp for attaching to the rail, a mounting plate for securing the surgical arm, and a support member extending across the table. This segmentation allows each component to be optimized for its specific function, with the support member providing additional stiffness to reduce vibration while the clamp provides secure attachment.
Solution Approach 2:
The support member extends from the mounting location across the width of the operating table to the opposite side, utilizing the table's overall structure as an additional support dimension. This transforms a single-point mounting problem into a distributed support system, significantly increasing stiffness and reducing vibration without modifying the original rails.
2Device complexity
If a modular surgical system with individual mounting devices is used, then system cost and size are reduced, but the mounting device must be both movable during setup and fixed during operation
Solution Approach 1:
The clamp incorporates a mechanical state change capability, allowing it to transition between a movable state during setup (for positioning along the rail) and a fixed state during operation (for securing the surgical arm). This dynamic characteristic enables the same component to satisfy both movability and stability requirements at different times in the workflow.
Solution Approach 2:
The mounting device is designed to perform multiple functions: it can be positioned at different locations along the rail, attached and detached from the rail, and secured in fixed positions. This multi-functionality allows a single simple component design to serve both setup flexibility and operational stability needs.
3Stability of the object's composition
If teleoperated surgical systems use significant mass components, then structural stability is improved, but movability and portability are reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The mounting device acts as an intermediary between the lightweight modular surgical arm and the heavy-duty operating table structure. By interfacing through the table's existing robust rails and utilizing the support member spanning across the table, the system gains access to the table's structural stability without requiring the surgical arm itself to have significant mass.
Data Source
AI summary
A medical device system includes: an auxiliary rail including a frame and a flange extending from the frame; and a surgical arm mounting device including a coupler and a surgical arm interface. The frame is configured to be mounted on a side rail of an operating table. The coupler includes a clamp for the flange of the auxiliary table rail. The clamp of the coupler has a first mechanical state in which the mounting device is fixed to the auxiliary rail and a second mechanical state in which the mounting device is translatable along the auxiliary rail. The surgical arm interface receives a mating mounting device interface of a surgical arm.