Surgical Instrument Flexible Circuit Tracking Device
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Solution Overview
Problem
Surgical instruments with flexible elongated portions face challenges in maintaining specific configurations during procedures, such as ENT suction procedures, and tracking devices can be cumbersome to couple with lead wires, leading to inaccurate tracking of the distal tip, especially when bent relative to the handle.
Innovation Solution
A surgical instrument with a malleable metallic body that can be bent and maintain configuration, featuring a tracking device adjacent to the distal end and a flexible circuit around the body to ensure accurate tracking and electrical connectivity without straining or breaking, even when bent.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If a flexible elongated portion is used to conform to internal cavities, then the instrument can navigate complex anatomical structures, but it cannot retain a specific configuration for effective suction procedures
Solution Approach 1:
The instrument employs a malleable elongated body that can be dynamically shaped into a desired configuration during the procedure. The body is bent into a specific arc shape and maintained in that configuration through the procedure, combining adaptability to reach complex cavities with stability to maintain suction orientation.
2Measurement precision
If a tracking device is coupled to the instrument, then the location of the distal tip can be tracked, but the tracking device becomes difficult to manipulate and cumbersome to couple, especially with flexible elongated portions
Solution Approach 1:
The tracking device is extracted from the handle region and repositioned to be in direct communication with the distal tip of the instrument. This eliminates the need for long lead wires that must traverse the flexible body, making the tracking device easier to couple and manipulate while maintaining accurate tracking of the distal tip position.
3Ease of manufacture
If the tracking device is positioned in the handle, then it is easier to couple, but the distal tip cannot be accurately tracked when it moves or is moved relative to the handle
Solution Approach 1:
The tracking device is repositioned from the handle (proximal dimension) to the distal tip region (distal dimension). This spatial repositioning ensures that the tracking device moves with the distal tip, maintaining accurate tracking even when the flexible body bends or moves relative to the handle.
4Reliability
If lead wires are coupled to the tracking device on a flexible instrument, then electrical connectivity is achieved, but the wires strain or break during bending of the body portion
Solution Approach 1:
The lead wires are extracted from the flexible body interior and repositioned to run externally from the tracking device at the distal tip directly to the handle. This eliminates the strain that would occur if wires had to flex with the bending body, while maintaining electrical connectivity for tracking and other functions.
Data Source
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Figure 5~5A
AI summary
A surgical instrument (100) is disclosed having an elongated body portion (126) having a proximal end and a distal end. The body portion is formed from a plastically deformable material such that the body portion can be bent between the proximal and distal ends from a first configuration to a second bent configuration and maintains the bent configuration. A flexible circuit sheet (232) having at least a pair of lead wires (236) disposed around the body portion. The pair of lead wires are configured to conform to the bent configuration of the body portion such that they do not break during bending of the body portion. A tracking device (84) adapted to cooperate with a navigation system (10) to track the distal end of the instrument (100) is coupled to the flexible circuit.