Surgical Stapler Tissue Thickness Lockout via Hall Sensor
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Solution Overview
Problem
Surgical staplers often face issues with improper tissue thickness detection, leading to potential complications when firing, as existing technologies lack effective mechanisms to ensure the tissue is within a specified thickness range before actuation.
Innovation Solution
A surgical instrument equipped with a tissue thickness module, utilizing a Hall effect sensor and magnet to sense tissue thickness, communicates with a control circuit to prevent actuation when the tissue is outside the specified range, ensuring safe and proper stapling and cutting.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a surgical stapler is used without tissue thickness detection, then the instrument can be operated freely, but complications may arise when tissue thickness is outside the acceptable range
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces complex mechanical tissue thickness measurement mechanisms with a magnetic field-based detection system. A magnet is placed on the anvil and a Hall effect sensor detects its position, allowing electronic determination of tissue thickness without mechanical contact or complex mechanical linkages.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces a Hall effect sensor as an intermediary between the magnet on the anvil and the control system. This sensor indirectly measures tissue thickness by detecting magnetic field strength variations, providing reliable data without direct mechanical interaction with the tissue.
2Measurement precision
If a Hall effect sensor and magnet system is added to detect tissue thickness, then tissue thickness can be accurately sensed, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces complex mechanical tissue thickness measurement mechanisms with a magnetic field-based detection system. A magnet is placed on the anvil and a Hall effect sensor detects its position, allowing electronic determination of tissue thickness without mechanical contact or complex mechanical linkages.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the measurement parameter from direct mechanical displacement to magnetic field strength. By measuring the strength of the magnetic field (which varies with distance according to the inverse square law), the system indirectly but precisely determines tissue thickness through electronic parameter detection rather than mechanical measurement.
3Reliability
If the control circuit prevents actuation when tissue thickness is outside the range, then surgical complications are reduced, but the ease of operation is reduced due to lockout
Solution Approach 1:
The control circuit applies preliminary anti-action by preventing actuation before a potential harmful event can occur. When tissue thickness is detected to be outside the acceptable range, the system proactively locks out the firing mechanism, stopping the surgeon before they could attempt an unsafe stapling operation.
Solution Approach 2:
The system implements feedback by continuously monitoring tissue thickness and using this information to control actuation. The Hall effect sensor provides real-time data to the control circuit, which adjusts the actuation state based on the measured tissue thickness, creating a closed-loop safety system.
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
Prevents instrument firing when tissue is too thick or too thin, ensuring safe and effective stapling and cutting operations by locking out actuation when tissue thickness is not within acceptable limits, thereby reducing surgical complications.
Implementation Method 1
A tissue thickness module, which may comprise a Hall effect sensor, senses a magnetic field strength from a magnet that is indicative of the thickness of the tissue clamped in the end effector when the end effector is in the closed position
Data Source
AI summary
A surgical instrument with a tissue-clamping end effector, where actuation of the instrument is locked out when the thickness of the tissue clamped in the end effector is not within a specified thickness range. The end effector may comprise a tissue thickness module that senses the thickness of the tissue clamped in the end effector. The surgical instrument also comprises a control circuit in communication with the tissue thickness module. The control circuit prevents actuation of a working portion of the end effector when the thickness of the tissue clamped in the end effector is not within the specified thickness range.