Surgical Instrument Drive Segmentation for Sterile Barrier
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current surgical robot/instrument systems face challenges in maintaining sterility and simplifying the complex structure of instrument mounts, which are often reusable and costly to clean and sterilize, while also requiring motorized connections through sterile barriers.
Innovation Solution
The system divides the drives for moving and actuating surgical instruments into units within the robot and the instrument itself, with internal drives in the instrument and a passive trocar, eliminating the need for motorized connections through sterile barriers and allowing for a more straightforward, sterilizable design.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If motorized connections are provided through sterile barriers to enable precise robotic movement, then movement precision is improved, but device complexity and sterilization difficulty increase
Solution Approach 1:
The system is divided into two distinct segments: a non-sterile robotic system with motors and a sterile surgical instrument with passive transmission elements. The sterile barrier physically separates these segments, allowing the robotic side to be motorized while the instrument side remains simple and sterilizable. This segmentation resolves the contradiction by locating complexity in the non-sterile zone.
Solution Approach 2:
A sterile barrier acts as an intermediary element between the motorized robotic system and the sterile surgical instrument. This barrier allows mechanical force transmission while maintaining sterility, enabling precise movement control without requiring motorized connections through the barrier itself. The intermediary transfers motion while preserving the simplicity of the sterile instrument.
2Adaptability or versatility
If the instrument mount is designed as a reusable component with complex internal structure for sterilization, then adaptability is improved, but ease of manufacture and cleaning cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
The surgical instrument is designed as a disposable component that can be sterilized and discarded, while the instrument mount remains a simple, reusable interface. This approach allows the mount to have adequate adaptability without requiring complex internal structures, as the disposable instrument handles the complex functions. The simplicity of the mount improves ease of manufacture and reduces cleaning costs.
Solution Approach 2:
The system separates the reusable instrument mount from the disposable surgical instrument. The mount provides basic adaptability and interface functions with simple structure, while the disposable instrument contains the complex internal structures needed for various surgical functions. This segmentation allows the mount to be easily manufactured and sterilized while maintaining system adaptability.
3Reliability
If a sterility barrier in the form of a plastic foil is used to separate non-sterile and sterile zones, then sterility is improved, but device complexity increases due to required ports and power transmission trains
Solution Approach 1:
The motors and active drive mechanisms are extracted from the sterile zone and placed in the non-sterile robotic system. Only passive mechanical transmission elements (cables, pulleys, levers) remain in the sterile zone, eliminating the need for complex motorized connections through the sterile barrier. This extraction maintains sterility while reducing the complexity of power transmission trains.
Solution Approach 2:
Electric motorized connections are replaced with passive mechanical transmission systems in the sterile zone. Cables, pulleys, and levers transmit motion from the non-sterile robotic system through the sterile barrier without requiring motorized components on the sterile side. This substitution maintains sterility while simplifying the overall device complexity.
Data Source
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AI summary
A surgical robot/instrument system comprising a holding arm whose distal end portion has a gripping or holding device arranged thereon, the latter being designed to hold a trocar or a surgical instrument in an exchangeable fashion, and a surgical instrument with a minimally invasive design comprising an instrument shaft whose distal end portion supports an instrument tip via a joint, said instrument tip supporting an effector of the surgical instrument. The surgical robot/instrument system comprises drives by means of which functions such as actuating the effector, inclining or bending of the effector at its joint to the instrument shaft, rotating the effector around its longitudinal axis and/or rotating the instrument shaft, moving the instrument shaft in its shaft direction as well as moving the instrument shaft transverse to the shaft direction can be effected. The drives for effecting at least the instrument-internal functions, such as actuating the effector, inclining or bending the effector at its joint to the instrument shaft and rotating the effector around its longitudinal axis are provided internally on or in the surgical instrument. The drives for effecting the instrument-external functions, such as moving the instrument shaft transverse to the shaft direction, are provided externally on/in the holding arm.