Suturing Instrument Needle Motion Indicator
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current surgical suturing instruments lack efficient mechanisms for visualizing the orbital position and direction of the needle during suturing procedures, which can obscure the operator's view due to the cartridge body or tissue, potentially leading to inaccuracies in needle placement.
Innovation Solution
The surgical suturing instrument incorporates features such as indicator arrows, windows, and a needle motion indicator pin in a slot within the cartridge body to provide visual feedback on the needle's position and direction, allowing the operator to determine the orbital position and direction of the needle even when obscured by the cartridge body or tissue.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the cartridge body is used to contain the needle and drive assembly, then the needle can be securely held and driven during suturing, but the operator's view of the needle's orbital position and direction is obscured
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies visual indicators (arrows, windows, colored markings) on the cartridge body that change apparent position or visibility to indicate needle orbital position and direction. These visual cues allow the operator to see needle orientation without directly viewing the needle itself, resolving the contradiction between secure containment and visibility.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces intermediary visual indicators (arrows, windows, markers) that mediate between the needle's actual position and the operator's perception. These indicators translate internal needle position into visible external signals, allowing the operator to detect needle orbital position without direct line of sight.
2Ease of operation
If visual indicators are added to the cartridge body to show needle position, then the operator can better visualize needle motion, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses simple visual indicators such as colored arrows, windows, or markings on the cartridge body that require minimal structural modification. These indicators provide needle position information through color or transparency changes rather than complex mechanical systems, thus improving ease of operation while limiting complexity increase.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent creates a visual copy or representation of the needle's orbital position through indicators on the cartridge body. Rather than making the needle itself visible, the system creates a simplified visual model (arrows, markers) that replicates the essential position information, reducing the complexity burden compared to direct visualization systems.
Data Source
AI summary
A surgical instrument includes a body, a user input feature, an elongate shaft extending from the body along a longitudinal axis, and a needle applier coupled to the elongate shaft. The needle applier further includes a needle and a drive assembly coupled to the needle. The drive assembly is configured to rotate the needle about a rotation axis that is transverse to the longitudinal axis, in response to an actuation of the user input feature. The needle applier further includes a housing containing the needle and the drive assembly. The housing presents at least one indicator. The least one indicator is positioned to indicate at least one of a position of the needle relative to the housing, and a direction of rotation of the needle relative to the housing.