Robotic Surgical Instrument Force Feedback for Failure Recording
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Solution Overview
Problem
Endoscopic surgical instruments, such as staplers, face challenges in analyzing failures due to a lack of clear recording capabilities, leading to costly and complex defect analysis, often attributing failures to improper use without concrete evidence.
Innovation Solution
A surgical instrument with integrated recording capabilities, including sensors and a memory system, to document conditions such as closure trigger force, anvil closure, firing trigger position, and staple cartridge status, allowing for precise analysis of instrument usage and failure causes.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If endoscopic surgical instruments are used without integrated recording capabilities, then the device complexity is reduced, but the reliability of failure analysis deteriorates due to lack of objective usage data
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies preliminary action by implementing recording capabilities that continuously document usage conditions before failures occur. Sensors record closure trigger force, anvil closure position, firing trigger position, and staple cartridge status in real-time, creating an objective baseline for later failure analysis without requiring complex post-failure reconstruction
Solution Approach 2:
The patent uses sensors and recording systems as intermediaries between the surgical instrument's operation and the failure analysis process. These intermediaries capture objective usage data that mediates between the actual instrument performance and the manufacturer's ability to analyze failures, eliminating the need for complex manual reconstruction
2Measurement precision
If detailed recording capabilities are integrated into surgical instruments, then measurement precision of usage conditions is improved, but device complexity increases due to additional sensors and memory systems
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts specific critical parameters (closure trigger force, anvil closure position, firing trigger position, staple cartridge status) from the overall instrument operation and records them individually. This selective extraction of only the most relevant usage conditions provides sufficient measurement precision for failure analysis without requiring comprehensive recording of all instrument parameters, thereby limiting the increase in device complexity
Data Source
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AI summary
A surgical instrument. Various embodiments of the surgical instrument include an end effector that has a moveable cutting implement. A main drive shaft assembly operably interfaces with the end effector for transmitting an actuation motion to the movable cutting implement therein. A gear drive train is connected to the main drive shaft assembly. The gear drive train is actuated by a motor that is configured to receive control signals from a robotic system. Various embodiments include a sensor arrangement that operably interfaces the end effector to communicate forces experienced by the end effector to the robotic system.