Surgical Shear Blade Support With Tilting Pin Discontinuity
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing minimally invasive surgery (MIS) instruments face challenges in reducing size and manufacturing costs while maintaining effective cutting performance, with issues such as increased localized forces leading to cable deformation and lengthening, and the need for additional actuation members competing for limited space.
Innovation Solution
The medical device incorporates a blade support with a pin that allows the blade to rotate and tilt, using only four cables for three degrees of freedom, and thinner, shorter blades with compliant blade supports to redirect cutting force, minimizing manufacturing time and cost.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If traditional thick and long blades are used to accommodate deformation during cutting, then cutting performance is maintained, but manufacturing time and cost increase, and space for actuation members is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The blade support is designed with a discontinuity that enables dynamic tilting motion in response to applied forces. This dynamic capability allows the blade to achieve effective cutting action through rotational and tilting movements about the pin, eliminating the need for traditional thick and long blade designs while maintaining cutting performance and reducing manufacturing complexity
Solution Approach 2:
The invention changes the geometric parameters of the blade assembly by introducing a discontinuity in the blade support at a specific location along the bore. This parameter change enables the blade to rotate and tilt about the pin, achieving compact dimensions while preserving cutting effectiveness through motion rather than mass
2Length of moving object
If blade length is reduced to improve compactness, then maneuverability improves and space is reduced, but cutting force redirection capability may be compromised
Solution Approach 1:
The discontinuity in the blade support creates a fulcrum point that enables the blade to tilt dynamically in response to cutting forces. This dynamic tilting action, combined with rotation about the pin, allows effective redirection of cutting force to a smaller contact patch despite the reduced blade length, maintaining force effectiveness through motion
Solution Approach 2:
The invention adds a tilting dimension to the blade motion by introducing the discontinuity that allows rotation about an axis perpendicular to the primary cutting motion. This dimensional addition enables compact blade design while preserving force redirection capability through multi-axis movement rather than relying on blade length alone
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
This design reduces the overall length of the cutting blades, enhances maneuverability, and minimizes manufacturing time and cost, while maintaining effective cutting performance and reducing the need for additional actuation members.
Implementation Method 1
blade supports that allow for temporary deformation, enabling effective cutting force redirection to a smaller contact patch
Data Source
AI summary
A medical device includes a blade support, a blade supported by the blade support, and a pin. The blade support includes a bore with an inner portion oriented toward the blade and an outer portion oriented away from the blade. A discontinuity is located at a boundary between the inner and outer portions of the bore. The pin includes a longitudinal axis and a yaw plane is defined perpendicular to the longitudinal axis. A rotational yaw degree of freedom is defined about the longitudinal axis of the pin. The blade support is operable to rotate about the pin in the yaw degree of freedom, contact the pin at the discontinuity of the bore, and tilts away from the yaw plane at the discontinuity of the bore in response to a force applied in a lateral direction.