Surgical Instrument Edge Computing via Data Extraction
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Solution Overview
Problem
Surgical instruments, especially those used in minimally invasive procedures, face limitations in integrating electronic components due to limited installation space and energy constraints, making it challenging to perform sophisticated data analysis directly within the instrument.
Innovation Solution
A medical system comprising a surgical instrument with sensors, a non-volatile storage medium, and a first data communication interface, interacting with a medical device that acts as an edge computing unit with a second data communication interface, processor, and output interface, allowing data acquisition, storage, and analysis while reducing the need for continuous data communication and enhancing computing power and energy efficiency.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If electronic components are integrated in the surgical instrument, then data acquisition capability is improved, but installation space is exceeded
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the heavy computing and data processing functions from the surgical instrument to an external medical device. The surgical instrument retains only essential sensors and minimal electronics for data acquisition, while the extracted processing workload is handled by the external device with higher computational power and storage capacity.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces a data transmission interface as an intermediary between the surgical instrument and the external medical device. This intermediary enables communication and data exchange without requiring complex electronics within the instrument itself, allowing the instrument to maintain simplicity while still achieving sophisticated data analysis through the external device.
2Productivity
If sophisticated data analysis is performed in the surgical instrument, then processing capability is improved, but energy consumption increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the energy-intensive data processing and analysis functions from the battery-powered surgical instrument to an externally powered medical device. This extraction allows the instrument to conserve battery energy while still achieving sophisticated processing capabilities through the external device that has access to mains power or larger power reserves.
3Speed
If data is continuously communicated between surgical instrument and medical device, then real-time processing is improved, but bandwidth usage increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts continuous data streaming from the surgical instrument to periodic or event-triggered data transmission. By processing data locally in batches or only transmitting when significant events occur, the system reduces the quantity of data communicated while maintaining essential real-time processing capabilities for critical functions.
Data Source
AI summary
A medical system, including: a surgical instrument having at least one sensor, the at least one sensor being configured to acquire measurement data, and a medical device configured to interact with the surgical instrument. Where the surgical instrument further includes: a first data communication interface; and a non-volatile storage medium for storing the acquired measurement data. The medical device further includes: a second data communication interface, wherein the first and the second data communication interface are configured to establish a data link and the surgical instrument is configured to communicate the measurement data stored in the non-volatile storage medium via the data link to the medical device, a processor comprising hardware, the processor being configured to generate output data from the measurement data; and an output interface for outputting of the output data.