Motion-Compensating Surgical Tool with Optical Tracking
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Current surgical tools for microsurgery, such as retinal surgery, face challenges due to human limitations like hand tremor and lack of tactile feedback, and tool limitations like proximity sensing, leading to reduced accuracy and increased surgical risk.
Innovation Solution
A motion-compensating surgical tool system incorporating a hand piece with a moveable component, a drive assembly, and an optical detection system using common-path optical coherence tomography (CP-OCT) for precise distance sensing and surface tracking, enabling accurate and safe microsurgical maneuvers.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If free-hand instrumentation is used in microsurgery, then surgeon dexterity and manual control are maintained, but hand tremor and lack of tactile feedback reduce surgical accuracy
Solution Approach 1:
The surgical tool incorporates an optical detection system that provides real-time feedback on tool-tissue distance through optical coherence tomography. This feedback loop allows the surgeon to maintain manual control while compensating for hand tremor and achieving precise depth control during incisions.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces mechanical tactile feedback mechanisms with an optical detection system using optical coherence tomography. This substitution eliminates the need for direct tactile contact while providing precise distance measurement and control capabilities.
2Device complexity
If conventional surgical tools without proximity sensing are used, then device simplicity is maintained, but lack of proximity sensing increases surgical risk
Solution Approach 1:
The surgical tool integrates multiple functions including cutting, optical detection, and motion compensation within a single handheld device. This multi-functionality provides proximity sensing and safety features without requiring separate complex systems.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces an optical fiber as an intermediary element that enables proximity sensing without mechanical contact. The optical fiber transmits light for optical coherence tomography measurements, providing safety feedback without adding complex mechanical sensing structures.
3Device complexity
If motion compensation is not implemented, then system simplicity is maintained, but involuntary patient motion and hand tremor cause serious positioning errors
Solution Approach 1:
The system continuously monitors tool-tissue distance using optical coherence tomography and provides real-time feedback to a control system. This feedback enables automatic motion compensation that counteracts hand tremor and patient motion while maintaining simple handheld operation.
Solution Approach 2:
The surgical tool performs self-correction of positioning errors through integrated motion compensation. The system automatically detects and compensates for motion deviations without requiring additional external equipment or complex manual adjustments by the surgeon.
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
The system provides precise surface tracking and motion compensation, significantly improving surgical accuracy and safety by maintaining constant tool-tissue distance, reducing hand tremor-induced errors, and enabling uniform incision depth.
Implementation Method 1
an optical detection system that includes an optical fiber attached to the moveable component with an end at a fixed distance to a distal-most portion of the moveable component. The optical detection system is configured to output a signal for the determination of a distance of the distal-most portion of the moveable component to a target during surgery
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2
Figure 3A~3D
AI summary
A motion-compensating surgical tool system includes a surgical tool that includes a hand piece and a moveable component, a drive assembly connecting the moveable component to the hand piece such that the moveable component is movable in an axial direction relative to the hand piece by the drive assembly. The motion-compensating surgical tool system also includes an optical detection system that includes an optical fiber attached to the moveable component with an end at a fixed distance to a distal-most portion of the moveable component. The optical detection system is configured to output a signal for the determination of a distance of the distal-most portion of the moveable component to a target during surgery.