Trocar Lock Assembly with Visual Indication
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing powered surgical devices lack efficient mechanisms for ensuring proper attachment and secure locking of trocars, which is crucial for effective reprocessing and reuse, particularly during surgical procedures like anastomoses and hemorrhoidectomies.
Innovation Solution
The development of a trocar lock assembly integrated into the surgical device, which includes a support block and lock pins that provide visual and mechanical indication of proper trocar attachment, allowing for secure engagement and easy disengagement for cleaning and sterilization.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a trocar lock mechanism is added to ensure secure attachment, then the reliability of trocar attachment is improved, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The lock pin is spring-loaded and automatically engages with the trocar when inserted, providing self-locking functionality without requiring manual operation. The spring bias ensures automatic engagement and maintenance of locked state, reducing the need for complex control mechanisms while ensuring reliable attachment.
Solution Approach 2:
The indicator mechanism uses color changes (green for locked, red for unlocked) to provide visual feedback about the trocar attachment state. This simple optical indication system communicates device status without adding mechanical complexity to the locking mechanism itself.
2Ease of operation
If a visual indication system is added to show proper trocar attachment, then the ease of operation is improved, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The indicator uses simple color-coded visual signals (green LED for proper attachment, red LED for improper attachment) to communicate device status. This provides intuitive feedback to the operator without requiring complex displays or interfaces, maintaining ease of operation while minimizing added complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The indicator system automatically detects trocar attachment status through the mechanical position of the trocar relative to the lock mechanism and provides visual feedback without requiring manual checking or additional sensors. The system self-monitors and communicates its state.
3Ease of manufacture
If the trocar is made removable for reprocessing, then the ease of manufacture and reprocessing efficiency are improved, but the reliability of attachment may worsen
Solution Approach 1:
The trocar is designed as a removable, disposable component that can be easily detached and replaced. The lock mechanism provides secure attachment during use, then allows simple removal for disposal or reprocessing, balancing attachment reliability with ease of reprocessing.
Solution Approach 2:
The lock mechanism transitions between locked and unlocked states dynamically. During surgical use, the spring-loaded lock pin maintains secure engagement. When reprocessing is needed, the mechanism can be easily unlocked and reset, allowing the trocar to be removed or reprocessed without compromising attachment security during the operational phase.
Data Source
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AI summary
An adapter assembly, for connecting a surgical reload to an electromechanical handle assembly, includes an outer tube; a trocar assembly releasably securable within a distal end of the outer tube, the trocar assembly including a trocar housing defining a pair of openings therein, wherein the pair of openings are in opposed radially extending relation to one another; and a trocar assembly release mechanism configured to releasably secure the trocar assembly within the outer tube. The release mechanism includes a pair of pins slidably supported within the outer tube, wherein each pin is selectively receivable within a respective opening of the pair of openings formed in the trocar housing; a release button supported in the outer tube and movable between an extended condition and a depressed condition; and a spring clip slidably supported in the outer tube, the spring clip interconnecting the release button and the pair of pins.