Surgical Stapling Instrument with Pivotable Knife and Cartridge Assembly
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional surgical stapling instruments lack an efficient mechanism for simultaneously stapling and cutting tissue, often requiring separate instruments or complex procedures to achieve both functions.
Innovation Solution
A jaw assembly with a cartridge housing, a tissue-contacting surface, and a pivotable knife with a cutting edge, where the knife moves between retracted and expanded states to eject staples and cut tissue, utilizing a resilient biasing member and a sled actuator to facilitate both stapling and cutting in a single surgical instrument.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If separate instruments are used for stapling and cutting tissue, then each function can be performed reliably, but the number of instruments and procedural complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines the stapling function (cartridge assembly with staples) and cutting function (knife with cutting edge) into a single integrated jaw assembly. The knife is positioned within the cartridge housing and can extend through the tissue-contacting surface to cut tissue while the cartridge simultaneously or sequentially staples the tissue, eliminating the need for separate stapling and cutting instruments.
Solution Approach 2:
The jaw assembly is designed as a multi-functional device that can perform both stapling and cutting operations. The cartridge assembly supports both staples and a knife, allowing the same instrument to execute multiple surgical functions (stapling, cutting, or both sequentially) depending on the surgical requirement, thereby reducing the total number of instruments needed.
2Productivity
If a single instrument performs both stapling and cutting, then procedural efficiency improves, but the mechanism complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The knife is designed with movable capabilities, allowing it to extend through the tissue-contacting surface and retract back into the cartridge housing. This dynamic configuration enables the knife to transition between retracted and extended states, facilitating both cutting and non-cutting modes within the same instrument without requiring separate fixed structures for each function.
Solution Approach 2:
The jaw assembly is segmented into distinct functional components: the cartridge assembly (housing, tissue-contacting surface, staples), the knife (with cutting edge), and the anvil assembly. These segmented components work together within a single instrument, allowing independent operation of stapling and cutting functions while maintaining overall integration and coordinated action.
3Ease of operation
If the knife is always extended for cutting, then cutting access is improved, but tissue damage and loss of stapling precision occur
Solution Approach 1:
The knife can be extended preliminary to the stapling action when cutting is required. The instrument is configured to allow the knife to protrude through the tissue-contacting surface before, during, or after staple deployment depending on the surgical need. This preliminary positioning enables the surgeon to access and cut tissue effectively while maintaining the ability to perform precise stapling when the knife is retracted.
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 efficient and precise stapling and cutting of tissue with a single surgical instrument, improving procedural efficiency and access in complex surgical procedures like nephrectomies and colo-rectal surgeries by integrating staple ejection and cutting functions within the end effector.
Implementation Method 1
a resilient biasing member positioned to urge the knife toward the expanded state
Data Source
AI summary
A cartridge assembly of a surgical stapling instrument includes a housing having an arcuate configuration, a knife disposed within the housing, and a staple actuator configured to eject staples. A longitudinally-extending cutting edge of the knife is configured to advance through tissue after the staple actuator ejects all of the staples from the cartridge assembly.