Robotic Surgical Tool Magnetic Coupling Across Sterile Barrier
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Solution Overview
Problem
Traditional minimally invasive surgical instruments lack the flexibility, dexterity, and sensitivity required for intuitive surgical maneuvers, particularly due to the limitations of small incisions and the non-intuitive movement coordination between the surgeon's control and the end effector's movement in robotic surgery systems.
Innovation Solution
A surgical system that includes a sterile barrier between the surgical tool and the robotic surgical system, utilizing a magnetic field to move the end effector without mechanical driving, allowing for functions like closing, opening, articulation, and rotation of the end effector, while maintaining a sterile environment.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If traditional minimally invasive surgical instruments are used, then the surgical procedure can be performed through small incisions, but the surgeon loses flexibility and dexterity in tool placement and movement
Solution Approach 1:
The surgical instrument is divided into multiple segments including a handle, shaft, and end effector. The shaft can articulate at multiple joints, allowing the end effector to be positioned independently from the handle, thereby maintaining flexibility and dexterity despite the overall length of the instrument.
Solution Approach 2:
The end effector components are nested within the shaft structure, allowing compact storage when not in use while enabling full range of motion when deployed. The articulating segments can be collapsed into a more compact configuration within the shaft.
2Reliability
If traditional endoscopic instruments are used, then the surgical procedure can be performed minimally invasively, but the surgeon experiences reduced sensitivity to forces exerted by tissues on the end effector
Solution Approach 1:
Force sensors are integrated at the end effector to detect forces exerted by tissues. This feedback is transmitted to the surgeon through the articulating shaft mechanism, providing tactile information about tissue forces despite the length of the instrument.
Solution Approach 2:
Traditional mechanical force transmission through long shafts is replaced with a combination of magnetic coupling and feedback sensors. The magnetic coupling allows for precise control while the sensors provide direct measurement of tissue forces, eliminating the attenuation of force sensation that occurs in traditional mechanical systems.
3Ease of operation
If traditional endoscopic instruments are used, then the surgical procedure can be performed through small incisions, but the coordination of end effector movement with visual feedback on the monitor is difficult and non-intuitive
Solution Approach 1:
The articulating shaft provides dynamic adaptability, allowing the end effector to move in multiple directions independently of the handle. This dynamic structure enables intuitive control where the end effector can be positioned and oriented as needed, with movement coordinated through the flexible articulating segments rather than rigid mechanical linkages.
Solution Approach 2:
The articulating shaft acts as an intermediary between the surgeon's hand movements and the end effector position. It translates and coordinates the complex movements required to achieve precise end effector positioning while maintaining a simple, intuitive interface at the handle.
4Reliability
If a sterile barrier is introduced between the surgical tool and robotic surgical system, then sterility is maintained, but mechanical coupling and control become more difficult
Solution Approach 1:
Traditional mechanical coupling across the sterile barrier is replaced with magnetic coupling. Magnets in the surgical tool interact with magnets in the robotic system through the sterile barrier, eliminating the need for mechanical penetrations and maintaining sterility while enabling precise control.
Solution Approach 2:
The sterile barrier itself becomes an intermediary that transmits magnetic fields while blocking physical contact. This allows the barrier to maintain sterility while still enabling control and feedback transmission through non-contact magnetic interaction.
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
Enhances surgical dexterity and intuitiveness by enabling precise and sensitive movements of the end effector through the generation of a magnetic field, improving the usability of minimally invasive robotic surgery systems.
Implementation Method 1
The end effector is configured to move in response to generation of a magnetic field extending between a non-sterile environment proximal to the surgical tool and a sterile environment in which the surgical tool is located
Implementation Method 2
a magnetic field generated between the rotor and the stator being configured to cause movement of the end effector
Implementation Method 3
a magnetic field generated between the rotor and the stator
Data Source
AI summary
Various exemplary surgical tool and robotic surgical system interfaces are provided. In general, a sterile barrier can be positioned between a robotic surgical system and a surgical tool releasably coupled to the robotic surgical system. The surgical tool can be in a sterile environment on one side of the sterile barrier, and the robotic surgical system can be in a non-sterile environment on the other, opposite side of the sterile barrier. The robotic surgical system can be configured to control movement of the surgical tool releasably coupled thereto using a magnetic field that extends across the sterile barrier between the surgical tool and the robotic surgical system.