Surgical Fastener Loading Shuttle with Grooves and Projections
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Solution Overview
Problem
The existing systems for loading surgical fasteners into applicators are difficult and unsafe due to the flexibility of the fasteners, which makes it challenging to handle them without being cut by sharp needles, and require multiple needles for each fastener.
Innovation Solution
A system comprising a shuttle with channels and grooves to securely hold the fastener's anchors and a cartridge with projections to limit and control the movement of the shuttle, allowing for safe and efficient loading of the fasteners into an applicator, where the connector of the fastener abuts a projection to prevent distal movement and a second projection engages a recess to prevent further shuttle movement without a predetermined force.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If surgical fasteners are made flexible for tissue approximation, then they can conform to tissue contours, but they become difficult to handle and load into applicators without being cut by sharp needles
Solution Approach 1:
A loading tool with a channel and groove acts as an intermediary device between the operator and the flexible surgical fastener. The channel receives the fastener while the groove provides access for needle insertion, enabling safe loading without direct hand manipulation of the fastener near sharp needles
Solution Approach 2:
The loading system is segmented into distinct functional components: a loading tool with channel and groove, a cartridge holder, and the applicator. This segmentation allows each component to perform its specific function safely, isolating the operator from the dangerous interaction between flexible fasteners and sharp needles
2Reliability
If preloaded needles are used for each fastener, then safety is improved by avoiding direct handling, but device complexity and cost increase due to requiring multiple needles per applicator
Solution Approach 1:
The applicator is designed with a universal channel that can receive multiple needles sequentially. The groove in the loading tool provides universal access for needle insertion, allowing a single applicator to be loaded with multiple needles without requiring pre-assembled needle-fastener combinations
Solution Approach 2:
The loading tool enables the operator to safely perform the loading function themselves without requiring pre-packaged needle-fastener assemblies. The system allows self-service loading where the operator controls the insertion process through the groove, eliminating the need for complex pre-loaded units
3Device complexity
If direct insertion of fasteners into applicator channels is attempted, then the process is simplified, but the risk of injury from sharp needle distal ends increases
Solution Approach 1:
The loading tool serves as a protective intermediary that mediates between the operator's hands and the sharp needle distal ends. The groove provides a controlled access path that allows needle insertion while preventing direct contact between the operator and the sharp needle tips
Solution Approach 2:
The dangerous function of direct hand manipulation near sharp needles is extracted and replaced by the grooved loading tool. The tool takes out the hazard by providing a barrier structure that separates the operator from the sharp needle ends during the loading process
Data Source
AI summary
A system for holding surgical fasteners each having a first anchor, a second anchor and a connector extending therebetween upwardly from the first and second anchors, and a method for loading the same into an applicator. The system includes a shuttle having first and second channels dimensioned to slidably receive therein the first and second anchors, and having first and second grooves respectively forming openings into the channels along a portion of a length of the channels. When the first and second anchors are received within the first and second channels, the connector of the surgical fastener extends out of the shuttle through the first and second grooves. The system also includes a cartridge having at least a first channel dimensioned to slidably receive the shuttle therein, and having a first projection extending into the first channel. When the shuttle and loaded fastener are received within the cartridge channel, the connector of the surgical fastener abuts the first projection to thereby limit movement of the fastener toward a distal end of the cartridge.