Telescoping Sleeve for Surgical Instrument Rigidity
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Solution Overview
Problem
Minimally invasive surgical instruments with small diameters lack rigidity and functionality, limiting their effectiveness and safety due to bending and breakage issues, especially in procedures requiring triangulation and visualization of internal attachments.
Innovation Solution
A collapsible strengthening sleeve device is attached to the instrument shaft, providing extra strength and rigidity through a telescoping assembly with springs, allowing manual or automatic adjustment to maintain coverage over the shaft outside the body, ensuring minimal incision size and enhanced load-carrying capacity.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Weight of moving object
If the diameter of surgical instruments is reduced to enable minimally invasive procedures, then patient trauma and scarring are reduced, but the rigidity and functionality of the instruments deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs a telescoping sleeve assembly that nests within itself, with multiple tubular members that can slide relative to each other. When compressed, the sleeves telescope into one another, allowing the assembly to fit through small incisions while maintaining full functionality. This nested structure enables the instrument to pass through restricted openings while preserving its operational capabilities outside the body.
Solution Approach 2:
The strengthening assembly is designed to be dynamically adjustable through compression. When compressed along the longitudinal axis, the telescoping sleeves reduce in length and change configuration, allowing the assembly to adapt to different spatial constraints during insertion and use. This dynamic behavior enables the same structure to provide rigidity when needed while accommodating limited access through small incisions.
2Strength
If a strengthening sleeve is added to the instrument shaft, then rigidity and strength are improved, but the overall device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The strengthening assembly is divided into multiple discrete telescoping tubular members rather than a single complex structure. Each tube can move independently relative to the others, allowing the system to achieve its strengthening function through a series of simple, modular components. This segmentation makes the assembly easier to manufacture, assemble, and maintain while providing the necessary rigidity enhancement.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent utilizes thin-walled tubular structures that provide strength through their geometry and material properties rather than through thick walls or complex internal structures. These thin-film-like sleeves offer the necessary rigidity when compressed together while remaining lightweight and simple in form, avoiding the need for heavier, more complex strengthening mechanisms.
3Strength
If the telescoping sleeve assembly is compressed to strengthen the shaft, then rigidity is improved, but the length of the instrument changes
Solution Approach 1:
The telescoping sleeve assembly is designed to dynamically adjust its length based on compression forces applied during use. When compressed, the sleeves telescope inward, reducing the overall length of the assembly while simultaneously providing the rigidity needed for effective instrument operation. This dynamic length adjustment allows the instrument to adapt to different procedural requirements.
Solution Approach 2:
The nested telescoping structure allows the sleeves to compact into one another when compressed, effectively reducing the overall length of the assembly. The inner tubes slide within outer tubes, creating a compact configuration that maintains strength while minimizing length. This nested arrangement enables the instrument to transition between extended and compressed states as needed during surgical procedures.
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 sleeve device significantly increases the rigidity and strength of the instrument shaft, reducing bending and breakage risks, enabling safer and more effective minimally invasive procedures with smaller incisions while maintaining visualization and triangulation capabilities.
Implementation Method 1
The spring is contained within the telescoping assembly and applies a biasing force to the instrument shaft
Data Source
AI summary
The present invention is directed towards surgical devices and a method used in minimally invasive surgery whereby a device is incorporated into or onto an instrument to strengthen its shaft and improve its functionality in minimally invasive surgery. The primary goal of the invention is to increase the strength and rigidity of an instrument by using a specially designed sleeve that strengthens the instrument, thereby reducing its ability to bend and increasing its load carrying capacity. The invention will provide a system that gives extra strength and rigidity to small instrument shafts, so that surgeons can still safely and reliably perform their procedures, but can also use incisions that are as small as possible.