Disposable Tissue Suspender with Angled Distal Bar

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Solution Overview

Problem

Existing tissue retaining or suspending devices, such as surgical clamps, are often unwieldy, unsuitable for small spaces, and can cause trauma due to their clamping effect, and require sterilization, which increases costs and patient discomfort.

Innovation Solution

A single-use, disposable tissue suspender device with a longitudinal body and a distal bar that adopts an unconstrained deviating angle, allowing for secure suspension of tissue without the need for suturing and minimizing trauma, made from materials like high-density polypropylene copolymer, with a locking mechanism for adjustable positioning.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Ease of operation

If surgical clamps are used to retain or suspend tissue, then the tissue can be held in position during surgery, but the clamps are often unwieldy and voluminous, making them unsuitable for working in small spaces or cavities

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvesuitability for small spacesVSAvoidclamp size

Core Design Contradiction:

Ease of operationVSVolume of moving object

Solution Approach 1:

The patent employs a disposable suspender device that is discarded after single use, eliminating the need for complex sterilization procedures and allowing for more flexible, less bulky design compared to reusable surgical clamps. This disposable nature enables the device to be optimized for minimal size while maintaining functionality in confined spaces.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #27Cheap short-living objects (Disposable)

2Ease of operation

If surgical clamps are used to retain or suspend tissue, then the tissue can be held in position during surgery, but the clamps often crush the tissue to which they are attached, potentially creating a further source of trauma

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvetissue retention capabilityVSAvoidtissue trauma

Core Design Contradiction:

Ease of operationVSObject-affected harmful factors

Solution Approach 1:

Instead of applying compressive force like traditional clamps, the suspender device uses a tensile suspension mechanism where the distal bar engages tissue and pulls it upward to suspend it from below. This inversion from compression to tension eliminates tissue crushing while maintaining effective retention.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #13The other way round (Inversion)

Solution Approach 2:

The suspender device incorporates flexible polymeric components including a resilient distal bar that can adapt to tissue contours without rigid contact points. This flexibility allows the device to engage and suspend tissue gently without the crushing effect of rigid metallic clamps.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #30Flexible shells and thin films

3Strength

If surgical clamps made of surgical steel are used, then the clamps provide durable tissue retention, but they will require resterilisation after the intervention has finished, with all the inherent costs involved therein

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveclamp durabilityVSAvoidsterilization requirements

Core Design Contradiction:

StrengthVSEase of manufacture

Solution Approach 1:

Inventive Principle:

Principle #27Cheap short-living objects (Disposable)

4Ease of operation

If the body is moved into a suitable position to approach the target part via a more direct route, then access to the target area may be improved, but this is often inconvenient and may not provide the ideal environment for surgery, or may even be counter-productive to reducing trauma

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveaccess to target areaVSAvoidpatient trauma

Core Design Contradiction:

Ease of operationVSObject-affected harmful factors

Solution Approach 1:

The suspender device enables surgeons to work through small puncture wounds in the abdominal wall, accessing deep pelvic structures through a different spatial dimension rather than requiring large incisions or extreme patient positioning. The device suspends tissue to create working space, allowing minimally invasive access to areas that would otherwise require open surgery or awkward positioning.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #17Another dimension (Dimensionality change)

Data Source

PatentEP2632344B1Single use, disposable, tissue suspender device

Publication Date: 2021.06.30 PETERS SURGICAL SAS

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AI summary

The present invention relates to a single-use, disposable, tissue suspender device comprising a longitudinal body having a distal end and a proximal end, the thickness of the body being substantially constant along a major portion of the length of said body from said proximal end towards said distal end; wherein a region immediately preceding the distal end of the body presents a reduced thickness compared to the remainder of the longitudinal body extending back toward the proximal end; and wherein the distal end comprises a distal bar attached to the region of reduced thickness of the longitudinal body which adopts an unconstrained deviating angle to a longitudinal axis of the longitudinal body. The invention also relates to use of the device for suspending tissue in a human or animal body.