Transvaginal Multi-Lumen Access for Sealed Tool Exchange
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing minimally invasive surgical equipment requires complex and inefficient processes for tool replacement and gas management, often necessitating complete removal and reintroduction of instruments to maintain sterility and gas pressure, and fails to accommodate multiple instruments through a single access point.
Innovation Solution
A device with multiple conduits and gas ports that allow simultaneous insertion and removal of surgical tools while maintaining a sealed gas volume for insufflation, incorporating a puncturing needle and dilator for incision and advancement, with actuation mechanisms to prevent accidental activation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If multiple surgical tools are passed through separate cannulas, then each tool can access the body cavity independently, but the device complexity and procedural complexity increase significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines multiple separate cannulas into a single integrated access device that contains multiple lumens. This single device provides independent pathways for multiple surgical tools while maintaining a unified structure, thereby reducing the number of separate cannulas needed and simplifying the overall device complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The single access device is designed to perform multiple functions by accommodating various surgical tools through its multiple lumens. Each lumen can independently receive different surgical instruments, allowing the device to serve as a universal access point for diverse surgical needs without requiring separate specialized cannulas for each tool.
2Reliability
If surgical tools are removed and reintroduced to maintain sterility, then contamination is prevented, but the procedure time and operational efficiency are reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The patent enables continuous surgical procedures by allowing tools to be exchanged through the same access device without removing the entire cannula or disrupting the sealed connection to the body cavity. The proximal seal maintains sterility continuously while tools can be replaced without breaking the seal or requiring removal and reintroduction of the access device.
Solution Approach 2:
The access device acts as an intermediary between the external surgical tools and the internal body cavity environment. It provides a controlled interface with multiple lumens that allows tool exchange while maintaining the sterile barrier, eliminating the need to remove and reintroduce tools through the same puncture site.
3Quantity of substance
If gas insufflation is performed through a shared system, then gas can be delivered to the body cavity, but the gas pressure and volume cannot be independently controlled for multiple tools
Solution Approach 1:
The gas management system is segmented into multiple independent gas ports, each associated with specific lumens. This allows gas to be delivered through different ports independently, enabling separate control of gas volume and pressure for different surgical tools or regions within the body cavity, rather than using a single shared gas delivery system.
4Ease of operation
If needles and dilators are used for incision and dilation, then access to the body cavity is achieved, but they must be completely removed to make way for surgical arms
Solution Approach 1:
The puncturing needle and dilator perform the preliminary actions of incision and dilation to create the access pathway. Once the access device is properly positioned in the body cavity, these preliminary tools are withdrawn, leaving the surgical arms ready for immediate insertion through the prepared lumens without requiring removal of the access device itself.
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
Facilitates efficient and sterile tool exchange without disrupting gas pressure, reducing the need for repeated instrument removal and enhancing the efficiency of minimally invasive surgeries.
Implementation Method 1
a proximal sealing gasket seated in the lumen and adapted for selectively opening and closing
Implementation Method 2
a gas port in fluid communication with the lumen and displaced distally from the proximal port
Data Source
AI summary
A device for accessing a body cavity through a natural orifice comprises a proximal base member and a plurality of conduits arranged to receive a corresponding plurality of surgical tools. The device further comprises, for each conduit, a lumen shaped for passage therethrough of a surgical tool, the lumen having a proximal port and a distal opening, a gas port in fluid communication with the lumen and displaced distally from the proximal port, and a proximal sealing gasket seated in the lumen and adapted for selectively opening and closing. The gasket is displaced distally from the proximal port and proximally from the gas port so as to create a respective proximally-sealed distal gas volume in communication with the body cavity.