Surgical Tool Pivotable Handle and Symmetrical Connectors
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing surgical tools for total knee arthroplasty lack ergonomic design and precision control, leading to discomfort and inaccuracies during cutting procedures, particularly when dealing with non-ergonomic orientations of the saw.
Innovation Solution
A surgical tool with a body and end-effector, such as a saw blade, featuring a pivotable handle and symmetrical connectors for secure attachment of trackers and planar mechanisms, allowing for ergonomic adjustments and improved precision.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If the saw is oriented in non-ergonomic positions to accommodate different cutting planes, then the surgical tool can perform required cuts, but the surgeon experiences discomfort and difficulty in controlling the saw
Solution Approach 1:
The handle is made pivotable relative to the body about a pivot axis, allowing the surgeon to dynamically adjust the handle orientation to ergonomic positions while maintaining the cutting plane orientation. This dynamic adjustment resolves the contradiction by enabling both versatile cutting orientations and ergonomic handle positions.
2Speed
If the surgeon applies pressure to control the saw, then the cutting speed can be adjusted, but the surgeon cannot well control the pressure applied to the trigger resulting in poor control of saw blade speed
Solution Approach 1:
A control unit provides feedback to compensate for small movements from the surgeon, maintaining accurate control of the saw blade speed and position. This feedback mechanism ensures precise control of cutting speed even when the surgeon applies variable pressure on the trigger.
3Measurement precision
If the tracker is attached to the saw body, then the position can be tracked, but the tracker may be obstructed from the camera's field of view
Solution Approach 1:
The tracker is positioned on the saw body in a location that extends beyond the main body structure, placing it in a different spatial dimension that is less likely to be obstructed by the surgeon's hand or the surgical site, while maintaining accurate position tracking.
4Ease of manufacture
If different connectors are used for the tracker and planar mechanism, then each component can be optimized, but it is not convenient to treat opposite sides of the patient with the same saw
Solution Approach 1:
The connectors are designed with asymmetric features that allow them to be mounted on either side of the saw body, enabling the same saw to be used for bilateral surgery (left and right sides of the patient) while maintaining optimized connections for both the tracker and planar mechanism.
Data Source
AI summary
Surgical tools and robotic systems adaptable for treating a left side or a right side of a patient with minimal interference with the patient and surrounding operative site are disclosed. In some embodiments, a surgical tool can include a body, an end-effector, and a plurality of connectors. The end-effector can extend from a distal end of the body and be movable relative to the body about a pivot axis. The connectors can rigidly secure a distal part and a proximal part of a tracker, respectively, to the body. The connectors can be symmetrical to each other with respect to a plane including a longitudinal axis of the body and the pivot axis and can be suited for attachment on either side of the body.