Safety Trocar Assembly with Key Lock and Sheath Capture
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Solution Overview
Problem
Trocars pose a sharps sticking hazard and contamination risk to medical professionals during handling, use, and disposal, as the spear end can inadvertently pierce skin and transmit blood-borne pathogens.
Innovation Solution
A trocar assembly with a key that holds the spear end within a cannula until deployment, using an energizer to extend the trocar and a removable sheath to cover and capture the spear end, reducing exposure risks.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If the trocar spear end is exposed for easy handling and deployment, then ease of operation is improved, but the risk of inadvertent sticks and blood-borne pathogen transmission increases
Solution Approach 1:
The trocar is nested within the cannula, which is itself nested within the sheath. This multi-layer nesting structure allows the spear end to be concealed during handling and packaging, yet easily accessible when needed for deployment, resolving the contradiction between safety and ease of operation
Solution Approach 2:
The sheath acts as an intermediary protective barrier between the exposed trocar spear end and medical professionals. The sheath can be removed or repositioned to allow access when needed, providing both protection during handling and ease of operation during deployment
2Productivity
If the trocar is forced through soft tissue and skin with considerable speed and force, then productivity of the procedure is improved, but the risk of glove penetration and loss of control increases
Solution Approach 1:
The trocar is pre-loaded into the cannula and the cannula is pre-positioned against the patient's skin. This preliminary preparation allows the energizer to propel the trocar through tissue with controlled force without requiring the surgeon to manually force it, maintaining both speed and control
Solution Approach 2:
The manual mechanical forcing action is replaced with an energizer (spring-loaded or gas-powered mechanism) that provides controlled propulsive force. This substitution maintains high insertion speed while eliminating the loss of control that occurs when manually forcing the trocar through tissue
3Object-affected harmful factors
If the trocar is disposed of after use, then contamination risk to patients is reduced, but the risk of sticks to medical staff during disposal increases
Solution Approach 1:
The used trocar remains nested within the cannula, which can be captured within the sheath. This nested structure allows the entire assembly to be disposed of together as a single unit, eliminating the need to handle the sharp trocar separately and reducing disposal-related stick risks
Solution Approach 2:
The sheath is designed to capture and contain the used trocar, effectively 'recovering' the sharp element within a protective housing. This allows the entire assembly to be discarded as a single safe unit, reducing both contamination risk and disposal hazards
Data Source
AI summary
A trocar assembly includes a deployment assembly including: a cannula having an open end; a trocar disposed in the cannula and having a spear end; and an energizer acting on the trocar and configured to force the trocar from a safety position where the spear end is entirely within the cannula to an extended position where the spear end extends out of the open end; a key releasably coupled with the trocar and extending through the cannula such that the key holds the trocar in the safety position when coupled with the trocar in the safety position and uncoupling the key from the trocar allows the energizer to force the trocar from the safety position to the extended position; and a sheath assembly removably coupled to the deployment assembly, the sheath assembly including a sheath that covers the open end of the cannula.