Suturing Mechanism Rotational Staple Extraction for Flexible Endoscopes
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing suturing mechanisms for the gastrointestinal tract, such as surgical staplers, face challenges in efficiently extracting and deploying staples due to rigidity and length constraints when attached to flexible endoscopes, limiting their operational efficiency and flexibility.
Innovation Solution
A suturing mechanism with a grasping portion connected by a rotation shaft, featuring a staple extraction portion and a reception portion, utilizing a rotation member and straight-moving member to extract and deploy staples, allowing for rotation and straight movement to facilitate staple extraction and reception, even when attached to flexible endoscopes or overtubes.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If a rigid endoscope-supported suturing mechanism is used, then staple extraction and deployment can be achieved, but the device becomes less flexible and requires more space
Solution Approach 1:
The suturing mechanism is divided into separate functional modules: a grasping portion for tissue manipulation, a staple extraction portion with rotation member for staple removal, and a staple reception portion. This segmentation allows each module to be optimized independently, enabling the mechanism to adapt to flexible endoscopes while maintaining efficient staple extraction and deployment capabilities.
Solution Approach 2:
The mechanism utilizes rotational movement of the rotation member to achieve staple extraction in a different dimensional approach. Instead of linear extraction which requires more space, the rotational motion allows compact extraction within the constrained geometry of flexible endoscopes, transforming the extraction path from linear to rotational dimension.
2Ease of operation
If the grasping portion is made closeable with rotation shaft, then tissue grasping capability is improved, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The first grasping member and second grasping member are combined into a single integrated grasping portion that operates through a common rotation shaft. This merging of functions allows the tissue grasping capability to be enhanced while sharing common mechanical components, thereby reducing overall device complexity compared to having separate independent grasping mechanisms.
Solution Approach 2:
The rotation shaft serves multiple functions: it controls the opening and closing motion of the grasping members, and also enables the rotational extraction of staples through the rotation member. This multi-functionality reduces the need for separate mechanical systems, simplifying the overall device structure while maintaining enhanced tissue grasping capability.
3Productivity
If staple extraction portion and reception portion are positioned oppositely in closed state, then extraction efficiency is improved, but the device length increases
Solution Approach 1:
The mechanism utilizes the rotational motion around a central axis to position the staple extraction portion and reception portion in opposite orientations. This rotational arrangement allows the components to be compactly arranged in a circular or curved configuration rather than requiring a long linear space, achieving efficient extraction while minimizing device length.
Solution Approach 2:
The rotation member is nested within the grasping portion structure, and the staple extraction portion is integrated into the first grasping member while the reception portion is integrated into the second grasping member. This nesting arrangement allows the components to occupy overlapping or adjacent spatial volumes, reducing the overall device length while maintaining the opposite positioning needed for efficient staple extraction.
Data Source
AI summary
A suturing mechanism includes a grasping portion including a first grasping member and a second grasping member that are connected by a rotation shaft to be openable and closeable; a staple extraction portion provided in the first grasping member; and a staple reception portion provided in the second grasping member, wherein when the grasping portion is in a closed state, the staple extraction portion and the staple reception portion are opposite to each other, and the staple extraction portion includes a rotation member configured to extract the accommodated staple toward the opposite staple reception portion by a rotation operation; and a straight-moving member configured to interlock with the rotation operation of the rotation member and straightly move for extracting the staple toward the staple reception portion.