Surgical Cutting Instrument Control for Blade Exposure Restriction
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Solution Overview
Problem
Minimally invasive surgical instruments face challenges in detecting and correcting blade exposures due to limited visibility and remote operation, which can lead to safety issues and the need for extracting the instrument from the patient.
Innovation Solution
The surgical cutting instrument measures the jaw angle and articulation of the articulated wrist, corrects the jaw angle based on wrist articulation, and determines restrictions on cutting operations to prevent or perform the operation accordingly, using sensors and processors to manage blade exposure.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Object-affected harmful factors
If minimally invasive surgical instruments are used with remote operation, then patient trauma is reduced, but blade exposure detection and correction becomes difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The system continuously monitors jaw angle and wrist articulation through sensors, providing real-time feedback to the control system. This feedback loop enables automatic detection of blade exposure conditions and triggers appropriate corrective actions, solving the detection difficulty while maintaining minimally invasive benefits
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces manual mechanical monitoring with electronic sensing systems that automatically detect blade exposure through jaw angle and wrist articulation measurements. This substitution enables reliable detection without requiring direct visual inspection or manual checking by the surgeon
2Manufacturing precision
If computer-assisted control is implemented, then cutting precision is improved, but system complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The control system performs multiple functions using a unified approach: it monitors jaw angle, measures wrist articulation, detects blade exposure, and executes corrective actions all through the same computer-assisted control architecture. This multi-functionality improves cutting precision while avoiding the need for separate complex subsystems
Solution Approach 2:
The system automatically detects blade exposure conditions and corrects them without requiring surgeon intervention. The computer-assisted control self-manages the blade exposure problem by adjusting jaw angle or restricting cutting operations based on sensor data, thereby improving precision while keeping the system relatively simple
3Reliability
If jaw angle measurement and correction is implemented, then blade exposure is reduced, but measurement and control complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system measures jaw angle and wrist articulation before cutting operations occur, and proactively corrects potential blade exposure conditions by adjusting jaw angle in advance. This preliminary measurement and correction approach reduces blade exposure while avoiding the need for complex real-time intervention systems
Solution Approach 2:
The system uses simple parameter measurements (jaw angle and wrist articulation) that can be obtained through straightforward sensors. By focusing on these specific parameters rather than complex multi-dimensional measurements, the system achieves reliable blade exposure reduction while keeping measurement and control complexity manageable
Data Source
AI summary
Techniques for reducing blade exposures include a computer-assisted device having one or more processors and a drive system comprising one or more drive units configured to be coupled to a cutting instrument. The one or more processors are configured to: measure, using one or more first sensors, a jaw angle between gripping jaws of the cutting instrument; measure, using one or more second sensors, a roll of a shaft of the cutting instrument; correct the jaw angle based on the roll of the shaft; determine a restriction on a cutting operation to be performed using the instrument based on the corrected jaw angle; and perform or prevent the cutting operation according to the restriction.