Tissue Thickness Compensator for Surgical Stapler
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current surgical stapling instruments face challenges in consistently forming staples across varying tissue thicknesses, leading to inconsistent staple formation and potential tissue damage.
Innovation Solution
The development of a surgical stapler with a tissue thickness compensator, which includes a compressible layer within the staple cartridge that adjusts to different tissue thicknesses, ensuring consistent staple formation and minimizing tissue damage.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Manufacturing precision
If a traditional surgical stapler is used, then the stapling operation can be performed, but inconsistent staple formation occurs across varying tissue thicknesses
Solution Approach 1:
The anvil is made adjustable with multiple height positions, allowing the surgeon to dynamically adapt the stapling surface to different tissue thicknesses. This dynamic adjustment ensures consistent staple formation regardless of whether the tissue is thin or thick, resolving the contradiction between manufacturing precision and adaptability.
Solution Approach 2:
The anvil height parameter can be changed to match different tissue thicknesses. By adjusting the anvil-to-cartridge distance, the system maintains optimal stapling parameters across varying tissue conditions, achieving both consistent staple formation and adaptability to different tissue types.
2Productivity
If the anvil is positioned close to the staple cartridge, then stapling efficiency is improved, but tissue damage increases due to excessive compression
Solution Approach 1:
The anvil position is made dynamically adjustable, allowing the surgeon to optimize the distance between the anvil and staple cartridge based on tissue thickness. This ensures efficient stapling while preventing excessive compression that could damage the tissue, particularly important in thin-walled structures.
Solution Approach 2:
The anvil can be adjusted to provide locally appropriate compression forces. By changing the anvil height, the system applies the right amount of pressure for each specific tissue thickness, ensuring efficient stapling without causing harmful compression damage to delicate tissues.
3Object-affected harmful factors
If the anvil is positioned far from the staple cartridge, then tissue damage is reduced, but staple formation consistency deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The adjustable anvil allows the surgeon to dynamically position the anvil at the optimal distance for each stapling site. This ensures that the anvil is close enough to maintain consistent staple formation while being far enough to prevent tissue damage, resolving the contradiction between these two requirements.
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 tissue thickness compensator ensures consistent staple formation across varying tissue thicknesses, reducing the risk of tissue damage and improving the reliability of the stapling process.
Implementation Method 1
The tissue thickness compensator 462 may be configured to reduce inflammation associated with the implantation of the tissue thickness compensator 462. For example, the tissue thickness compensator 462 may include a biodegradable material that degrades over time and releases an anti-inflammatory agent.
Data Source
AI summary
A staple cartridge assembly for use with a surgical stapler. The assembly has a cartridge body having a support portion with a plurality of staple cavities with openings. There is also a plurality of staples, wherein at least a portion of each the staple is removably stored within a the staple cavity. Each the staple is movable between an unfired position and a fired position, and is deformable between an unfired configuration and a fired configuration. The assembly also includes a compressible tissue thickness compensator configured to be captured within the staples. The compressible tissue thickness compensator at least partially covers the staple cavity openings. The compressed tissue thickness compensator is configured to assume different compressed heights within different the staples. The compressible tissue thickness compensator comprising a lyophilized foam having a anti-inflammatory agent embedded therein.