Surgical Pin Extraction Tool with Interlocking Teeth
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing surgical pin removal tools are ineffective for extracting short or headless pins due to design limitations, such as requiring pins to extend through a jaw component, and have complex multiple parts that complicate cleaning and increase the risk of failure.
Innovation Solution
A gripping tool with two lever arms joined by a bridging portion featuring interlockable teeth and a flexure hinge, allowing for secure grip of pins of varying lengths without the need for extensive protrusions, and constructed as a single piece for ease of cleaning and reduced complexity.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a jaw component with aperture is used to grip the pin, then the pin can be effectively gripped by opposing forces, but the pin must extend through the jaw component which limits the use to extraction of long pins only
Solution Approach 1:
The jaw component is divided into two separate lever arms that can move independently. Each lever arm has its own aperture and teeth, allowing them to approach the pin from opposite directions and grip it without requiring the pin to extend through the entire jaw component. This segmentation enables effective gripping of short pins while maintaining grip reliability.
Solution Approach 2:
Instead of requiring the pin to extend through the jaw component in a linear fashion, the opposing lever arms approach the pin from opposite directions simultaneously. This dimensional change allows the pin to be gripped at its center point without needing to protrude beyond a certain length, expanding the range of pin lengths that can be extracted.
2Adaptability or versatility
If multiple components and working parts are used in the removal tool, then the tool can operate with complex functions, but the instrument becomes more difficult to clean and has increased likelihood of parts breaking
Solution Approach 1:
Multiple functional components (lever arms, apertures, teeth, fulcrum mechanism) are merged into a single integrally formed jaw component. This consolidation maintains all necessary functionalities for pin extraction while eliminating the need for separate parts, making the instrument easier to clean and less prone to mechanical failure from multiple components.
Solution Approach 2:
The single jaw component performs multiple functions: it provides apertures for pin insertion, contains interlocking teeth for gripping, incorporates lever arms for mechanical advantage, and includes a fulcrum mechanism for actuation. This multi-functionality in a single component reduces the overall number of parts while maintaining comprehensive tool functionality.
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
Enables the secure extraction of short or headless pins by misaligning interlocking teeth to grip the pin, reducing surgical time and improving patient outcomes through a tool that is easier to clean and less prone to mechanical failure.
Implementation Method 1
the bridging portion includes a flexure hinge
Data Source
AI summary
A gripping tool for extracting a pin during a surgical procedure, the gripping tool including: two lever arms, each arm having a nose end and a handle end, the two lever arms joined together proximate to but spaced apart from the nose end by a bridging portion, the bridging portion including a central fulcrum region; the nose ends of each the lever arms having one or more teeth adapted to interlock with the one or more teeth of the other lever arm; each nose end having a longitudinal aperture therein extending through the interlocking teeth adapted, in use, to align and receive the pin; such that in use, urging together the handle ends of the lever arms causes the nose ends to move relative to each other such that the interlocking teeth misalign and grip the pin.