Trocar Closure Needle Guide Apparatus
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current methods for closing trocar sites in laparoscopic procedures are cumbersome and lack a simple, reproducible, and reliable means, often leading to trocar site hernias due to improper closure of the fascial/peritoneal layer.
Innovation Solution
A surgical instrument system comprising a needle apparatus with a sharp tip and insufflation channel, combined with a guide apparatus featuring suture capture features, allows for quick, consistent, and reproducible closure of the wound site by passing and retrieving suture through tissue layers without the need for additional instrumentation or visualization.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If traditional methods are used to close trocar sites, then additional instruments (suture passers, guides) are required, but the procedure becomes cumbersome and complex
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines the needle apparatus and guide apparatus into an integrated system where the guide apparatus includes channels that direct the needle, and the needle apparatus includes a capture mechanism that retrieves suture through the guide. This merging eliminates the need for separate suture passers and guides, reducing instrument complexity while maintaining closure reliability
Solution Approach 2:
The needle apparatus serves multiple functions: it punctures tissue, carries suture material through its lumen, and retrieves suture via its capture mechanism. The guide apparatus simultaneously provides directional channels and receives the needle. This multi-functionality reduces the number of separate instruments needed, addressing the contradiction between reliability and complexity
2Reliability
If multiple separate instruments are used for suture passing and guide, then closure can be achieved, but the procedure lacks simplicity and reproducibility
Solution Approach 1:
By integrating the guide channels and needle apparatus into a single coordinated system, the patent creates a unified procedure where the needle follows predetermined channels through tissue. This integration simplifies the operator's task while ensuring consistent, reproducible closure through the structured interaction between guide channels and needle capture mechanism
3Measurement precision
If traditional closure methods are used without direct visualization, then suture passing may be attempted, but precision and accuracy are compromised
Solution Approach 1:
The guide apparatus acts as an intermediary structure with predetermined channels that physically guide the needle apparatus through tissue layers. This intermediary provides a structured pathway that ensures precise suture placement without requiring direct visualization, as the channels themselves define the accurate trajectory through the fascial and peritoneal layers
Data Source
AI summary
A trocar wound closure system includes a suture passing needle and a guide for directing the needle through the wound site. A distal portion of the needle includes a capture rod with a slot. An obturator tube with a cutout section can be axially actuated to align the cutout section with the slot, and then moved out of alignment so as to capture the suture. The guide includes at least two tracks for directing the needle through the tissue track. A snare loop is located adjacent to the exit of each track, and configured to be actuated from a radially extended configuration to a retracted configuration so as to capture the suture section inserted through each loop. Radially expandable arms at distal section are movable between an expanded configuration and a slender configuration.