Surgical Instrument Locking Mechanism for Single-Handed Dexterity
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current laparoscopic and endoscopic surgical instruments lack dexterity, making common tasks such as suturing and fine dissection challenging, and often require both hands for effective control, with limited ability to maintain a tool in a specific position.
Innovation Solution
A surgical instrument with a shaft, tool, control handle, and locking mechanism featuring a ball and socket arrangement, cinch member, and rigid cable actuation system that allows for single-handed operation, precise control, and locking of the tool in a desired position, enabling greater dexterity and hands-free manipulation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If traditional laparoscopic instruments are used, then the instrument can be inserted through small incisions, but the instrument lacks dexterity for suturing and fine dissection
Solution Approach 1:
The instrument is divided into multiple articulated segments including a proximal articulation at the handle and a distal articulation near the tool. Each segment can be independently controlled to achieve complex tool orientations and positions, providing surgical dexterity similar to open surgery while maintaining minimally invasive access.
Solution Approach 2:
The instrument incorporates dynamic articulation mechanisms that allow the tool to be positioned at arbitrary orientations. The proximal and distal articulations can be adjusted during surgery to optimize the tool's working position, enabling dexterous manipulation for suturing and fine dissection tasks.
2Ease of operation
If extra articulation is added to improve control, then dexterity increases, but the instrument requires both hands for effective control
Solution Approach 1:
Multiple control functions are merged into a single handle assembly. The proximal articulation control, distal articulation control, and tool actuation are all integrated into one ergonomic handle that can be operated with a single hand, eliminating the need for a second hand to control additional articulations.
Solution Approach 2:
The handle is designed as a multi-functional control station that provides articulation control and tool actuation capabilities. This universal control mechanism allows one hand to perform all necessary manipulation tasks, including adjusting proximal and distal articulations and actuating the surgical tool.
3Ease of operation
If the instrument is held in a bent configuration for positioning, then the tool can reach the target, but the surgeon cannot perform surgical procedures without simultaneously holding the instrument
Solution Approach 1:
The instrument's articulations are pre-positioned and locked at optimal angles before the surgical procedure begins. The proximal and distal articulations can be set in advance to achieve the desired tool orientation and position, allowing the surgeon to focus on the surgical task without continuously adjusting or holding the instrument in a bent configuration.
Solution Approach 2:
The locking mechanism automatically maintains the instrument's articulated position once set, providing self-sustaining positioning without requiring continuous manual support. This allows the surgeon to perform surgical procedures with one hand while the instrument maintains its bent configuration through its own locked articulations.
4Adaptability or versatility
If the instrument allows arbitrary tool orientation, then surgical dexterity is improved, but the instrument cannot be locked in a pre-selected position
Solution Approach 1:
The locking mechanism provides positional feedback by detecting when the articulation has reached the desired angle and automatically engaging the lock. This feedback system allows the surgeon to adjust the tool to any arbitrary orientation and then securely lock it in that position, maintaining both adaptability and position stability during the surgical procedure.
Data Source
AI summary
A surgical instrument that includes an instrument shaft having proximal and distal ends, a tool disposed from the distal end of the instrument shaft, a control handle disposed from the proximal end of the instrument shaft, a distal motion member for coupling the distal end of the instrument shaft to the tool, a proximal motion member for coupling the proximal end of the instrument shaft to the handle, actuation means extending between the distal and proximal motion members for coupling motion of the proximal motion member to the distal motion member for controlling the positioning of the tool and a locking mechanism for fixing the position of the tool at a selected position and having locked and unlocked states.