Surgical Instrument Sleep-Wake Control for Battery Readiness

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Solution Overview

Problem

Current surgical instruments face challenges in efficiently articulating and resetting end effectors to precise positions, particularly during minimally invasive procedures, leading to difficulties in aligning and repositioning tools within the body cavity without damaging access ports.

Innovation Solution

The development of a surgical instrument with a control system that includes a microcontroller and motorized articulation mechanism, allowing for precise articulation and automatic return to a home state position, facilitated by a user-friendly interface with switches and feedback mechanisms to ensure accurate alignment and minimal operator input.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Reliability

If surgical instruments remain powered on continuously, then operational readiness is maintained, but energy consumption increases and battery life decreases

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveoperational readinessVSAvoidenergy consumption

Core Design Contradiction:

ReliabilityVSUse of energy by moving object

Solution Approach 1:

The control circuit is configured to automatically transition components to a sleep mode after detecting a predetermined period of inactivity, proactively preparing for energy conservation before battery depletion becomes critical. This preliminary action maintains operational readiness by ensuring the system can quickly wake up when needed while preemptively reducing power consumption during idle periods

Inventive Principle:

Principle #10Preliminary action

Solution Approach 2:

The system implements periodic monitoring of motion sensors and user inputs to determine when to transition between active and sleep states. This periodic action creates a rhythm of power consumption that balances operational readiness with energy conservation, allowing the instrument to cycle through power states based on actual usage patterns rather than remaining continuously powered

Inventive Principle:

Principle #19Periodic action

2Use of energy by moving object

If the surgical instrument is placed in sleep mode to conserve energy, then energy consumption is reduced, but response time to become operational increases

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveenergy consumptionVSAvoidresponse time

Core Design Contradiction:

Use of energy by moving objectVSLoss of time

Solution Approach 1:

Motion sensors detect movement of the surgical instrument before the operator actually needs to use it, triggering a preliminary wake-up sequence that begins powering up components in advance. This preliminary detection and activation reduces the effective response time from sleep mode by anticipating the need for operation before the trigger is pulled or the instrument is fully engaged

Inventive Principle:

Principle #10Preliminary action

Solution Approach 2:

The system implements dynamic power management where different components wake up at different rates based on their criticality and power-up time requirements. Critical components with fast wake-up times remain in lighter sleep states, while non-critical components enter deeper sleep modes, creating a dynamic, multi-level power management strategy that optimizes both response time and energy savings

Inventive Principle:

Principle #15Dynamics

3Reliability

If motion sensing is continuously monitored, then automatic wake-up responsiveness is improved, but energy consumption during monitoring increases

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvewake-up responsivenessVSAvoidmonitoring energy

Core Design Contradiction:

ReliabilityVSUse of energy by moving object

Solution Approach 1:

The motion sensor operates in a periodic sampling mode during sleep state, checking for motion at predetermined intervals rather than continuously monitoring. This periodic monitoring significantly reduces energy consumption while maintaining adequate wake-up responsiveness, as the sampling frequency is tuned to detect typical surgical instrument handling motions without requiring constant sensor activation

Inventive Principle:

Principle #19Periodic action

Solution Approach 2:

The system uses a low-threshold motion detection setting that may occasionally trigger wake-up events even for minor vibrations or movements, accepting some excessive wake-up actions as a trade-off for using minimal monitoring power. This partial monitoring approach consumes far less energy than full continuous monitoring while ensuring that genuine usage events are reliably detected

Inventive Principle:

Principle #16Partial or excessive action

Data Source

PatentUS10898185B2Surgical instrument power management through sleep and wake up control

Publication Date: 2021.01.26 CILAG GMBH INTERNATIONAL

AI summary

A surgical instrument that includes a motion sensor configured to sense movement of the surgical instrument and a control circuit coupled to the motion sensor. The control circuit is configured to monitor the motion sensor to sense movement of the surgical instrument, transition the surgical instrument to a sleep mode when the surgical instrument has been stationary for a period above a predetermined threshold, and transition the surgical instrument to an operational mode when the surgical instrument has been moved. In the sleep mode the control circuit is configured to place a component of the surgical instrument in a low-power state. In the operational mode the control circuit is configured to activate the component of the surgical instrument.