Surgical Instrument LED Lighting and Orientation Sensor
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current surgical and medical instruments lack effective high-intensity lighting and reliable absolute orientation sensing, leading to suboptimal illumination and alignment during procedures, which can result in shadows and potential damage to patients due to inadequate orientation feedback.
Innovation Solution
Integration of absolute orientation sensors, including accelerometers, gyroscopes, and magnetometers, that do not require calibration against an arbitrary reference plane, providing real-time orientation data and high-intensity lighting sources directly on the instruments to enhance visibility and alignment accuracy.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Illumination intensity
If light emitters are placed away from the surgical instrument, then the instrument structure remains simple, but illumination intensity and coverage are insufficient
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines the light emitter with the surgical instrument by providing a housing that receives both the light emitter and the surgical tool. This integration ensures the light source is positioned close to the surgical field, improving illumination intensity and coverage while maintaining a compact, unified device structure.
2Illumination intensity
If light emitters are placed close to the surgical field, then illumination quality improves, but the device becomes more complex and bulky
Solution Approach 1:
The housing serves multiple functions: it protects the light emitter, positions the surgical tool, and provides structural support. This multi-functionality reduces the need for additional separate components, thereby improving illumination quality without significantly increasing device bulkiness.
3Measurement precision
If orientation sensors require calibration against arbitrary reference planes, then device complexity is reduced, but measurement accuracy and reliability deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces traditional mechanical orientation sensing that requires calibration with magnetic field-based sensing. The sensor determines orientation relative to the Earth's magnetic field, providing absolute orientation data without requiring calibration against arbitrary reference planes, thereby improving measurement precision while maintaining manageable device complexity.
4Reliability
If multiple sensors are integrated into the instrument, then orientation feedback reliability improves, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines multiple sensing functions (accelerometer, gyroscope, magnetometer) into a single integrated sensor unit within the instrument housing. This integration improves orientation feedback reliability by providing multiple data sources for cross-validation while managing device complexity through unified sensor architecture.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The solution provides improved illumination and precise orientation feedback, reducing shadows and enhancing the accuracy of surgical procedures by allowing instruments to detect orientation relative to the Earth's magnetic field, thus aiding in precise alignment and reducing the risk of errors.
Implementation Method 1
the absolute orientation sensing component would be operable to detect a plurality of orientation data associated with at least one orientation condition of the surgical instrument relative to the Earth's magnetic field
Implementation Method 2
absolute orientation sensors, including accelerometers, gyroscopes, and magnetometers
Implementation Method 3
absolute orientation sensors, including accelerometers, gyroscopes, and magnetometers
Implementation Method 4
high-intensity lighting sources directly on the instruments
Data Source
AI summary
A surgical instrument having a position sensor that may be detachable, disposable, partially isolated from movement of the main body of the surgical instrument, and/or configured to display feedback lighting. The orientation of the surgical instrument may be mimicked either virtually or by a mechanical device with a second surgical instrument. The instruments of the present disclosure may be used in any procedure or treatment that would benefit from position feedback for the instruments.