Surgical Rotational Unit with Integrated Handle Locking
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current spindle traction mechanisms for orthopedic surgery require significant operator effort and hand coordination to rotate and lock a patient's leg, often necessitating two people to avoid errors and contamination, while also being cumbersome and costly.
Innovation Solution
A rotation assembly with a torsionally resistant rotor, stator, and locking assembly actuated by a rotary handle, allowing single-handed rotation and locking of the patient's leg without releasing the handle, featuring a locking mechanism with multiple groups of locking pins and recesses for secure positioning and easy operation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a clamping lever is used to lock and unlock the rotation mechanism, then the leg can be secured in position, but the operator must release the handle with one hand to operate the clamping lever, increasing operational complexity and strain
Solution Approach 1:
The locking assembly is integrated into the rotary handle structure, combining the rotation control and locking functions into a single unified component. The locking pins are arranged radially around the handle axis, allowing the entire locking mechanism to be actuated by rotating the handle itself, eliminating the need for separate clamping lever operations.
Solution Approach 2:
The rotary handle serves multiple functions: it controls the rotation of the patient's leg and simultaneously actuates the locking mechanism. By rotating the handle in specific directions, the operator can both position the leg and engage/disengage the locking pins, making one component perform multiple critical functions.
2Manufacturing precision
If two people are used to operate the rotation mechanism, then positioning accuracy can be improved, but the cost and risk of contamination increase
Solution Approach 1:
The locking assembly is designed to be actuated solely by the rotation of the handle, which the operator controls with one hand while maintaining grip on the leg. The radial arrangement of locking pins allows the rotating handle to automatically engage or disengage locks without requiring a second person's intervention, enabling single-person operation with maintained precision.
3Reliability
If multiple locking pins are used to secure the leg, then locking reliability improves, but the complexity of the locking assembly increases
Solution Approach 1:
The locking pins are arranged asymmetrically in radial rows around the rotation axis, with each pin positioned at different angular locations. This asymmetric radial arrangement allows the rotating handle to sequentially engage or disengage multiple locking pins as it rotates, providing reliable multi-point locking while maintaining a relatively simple overall structure that leverages the existing rotation motion.
Data Source
AI summary
Rotation unit (16) for connecting to an operating table for rotation of a patient's leg about its longitudinal axis, wherein the rotation unit (16) comprises: an interface (24) for attachment of the foot of the patient's leg on the rotation unit (16); a rotor, to which the interface (24) is connected in a torsionally resistant manner and which is used for rotation of the interface (24) and thus of the patient's leg about the longitudinal axis; a stator (42), on which the rotor is rotatably mounted, such that the rotor can rotate relative to the stator; a rotary handle (22) for rotation of the rotor; and a locking assembly (26) for blocking the rotation of the rotor relative to the stator. The locking assembly (26) can be actuated by means of an action on the rotary handle.