Surgical Tool Packaging with Non-Contact Cutting Edge Chamber
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing packaging methods for sharp-edged surgical instruments risk contamination and injury by allowing the cutting edge to come into contact with plastic packaging materials, leading to potential plastic particle adherence and exposure during surgical operations.
Innovation Solution
A package design with two distinct regions, where the cutting or milling edges of the instrument are housed in a large, isolated chamber to prevent contact with package surfaces, and the shaft is secured in a fixed position using elastically deformable holding elements, ensuring safe and contamination-free removal.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Object-affected harmful factors
If the sharp-edged tool is packaged in plastic film layers, then the tool is protected from external contamination, but the cutting edge may come into contact with the plastic packaging material causing contamination and injury risk
Solution Approach 1:
The package is divided into two distinct regions: a front part with a larger chamber volume that defines an interior into which the cutting surfaces protrude without contact, and a holding part that secures the shaft or handle. This segmentation separates the sharp cutting edge from the packaging material while maintaining overall protection.
Solution Approach 2:
The package design introduces an intermediate space (the larger chamber volume in the front part) between the cutting edge and the packaging material. This intermediate region allows the cutting surfaces to protrude freely without contacting the package walls, eliminating the harmful contact while maintaining containment.
2Stability of the object's composition
If the tool is secured tightly in the package, then the tool position is stable during storage, but the tool becomes difficult to remove safely
Solution Approach 1:
The package is divided into a front part with larger chamber volume for the cutting surfaces and a holding part for the shaft. The holding part uses holding elements to secure the shaft in a fixed position, providing stability during storage while allowing easy removal of the shaft portion.
Solution Approach 2:
Different regions of the package have different securing characteristics: the front part provides a spacious interior that allows free movement and easy removal of the cutting portion, while the holding part provides fixed positioning for the shaft using holding elements. This local differentiation of quality resolves the contradiction between stability and ease of removal.
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 solution effectively prevents contact between the sharp edges and packaging materials, reducing the risk of contamination and injury, while allowing for easy and safe handling of the instrument during and after packaging.
Implementation Method 1
the shaft portion of the object to be secured is held in the holding part of the package under the influence of elastically deformable holding elements
Data Source
AI summary
Package for elongated sharp-edged objects, in particular for tools useful for surgical applications, which are secured in a fixed position in a package consisting at least partially of plastic, wherein the package comprises an a first enlarged package part which defines an interior into which the object that is to be protected and secured protrudes with its sharp edges in a noncontact manner and a second package part in which the shaft of the object is accommodated and held in a fixed position by holding elements.