Safety Stop Trochar Depth Control and Hands-Free Integration
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current trochar devices lack effective safety features to prevent accidental deep insertion during minimally invasive surgeries, leading to potential damage to internal organs and structures, and existing solutions are either inaccurate, cumbersome, or require additional hands for smoke evacuation and drainage management.
Innovation Solution
A safety-stop trochar device and system that includes a base with adhesive wings for secure attachment, a smoke evacuator, drainage tube holder, obturator, and illumination device, allowing for hands-free smoke evacuation, secure drainage management, and easy re-entry into the surgical site without stitches, while preventing deep insertion through a controlled depth mechanism.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If a trochar is used to puncture body cavity during minimally invasive surgery, then surgical efficiency is improved and recovery time is reduced, but the risk of accidental deep insertion and organ damage increases due to the sharp blades requiring manual force for penetration
Solution Approach 1:
A pre-determined stop depth is established on the trochar shaft before surgery begins. This stop depth is calculated based on patient-specific anatomy and surgical requirements, allowing the surgeon to know in advance the safe insertion limit without needing to estimate during the procedure
Solution Approach 2:
The system provides tactile feedback through the pre-determined stop depth marker on the trochar shaft, giving the surgeon immediate physical indication when the safe insertion depth is reached. This feedback mechanism eliminates the need for blind forceful insertion and allows for precise depth control
2Object-affected harmful factors
If surgeons use their finger as a makeshift stop along the trochar sleeve to prevent deep insertion, then some depth control is achieved, but the procedure becomes awkward, inaccurate, and dangerous requiring additional manual dexterity
Solution Approach 1:
The trochar device incorporates its own depth control mechanism through the pre-determined stop depth marker directly on the shaft. The device serves itself by providing built-in depth guidance without requiring the surgeon's finger or external measurement tools, making the operation simpler and more reliable
3Object-affected harmful factors
If shielded trochar systems with spring-loaded retractable shields are used to cover the cutting tip, then protection against inadvertent second cuts is improved, but the system becomes more complex and requires additional components that may malfunction
Solution Approach 1:
The invention extracts and separates the depth control function from the blade protection function. Instead of using a complex spring-loaded shield system, the patent uses a simple pre-determined stop depth marker on the shaft for depth control, while the shield system is simplified to only cover the tip without retractable mechanisms, reducing overall complexity while maintaining both protection and depth control
4Adaptability or versatility
If additional devices are used for smoke evacuation and drainage management during surgery, then surgical functionality is improved, but the procedure requires additional hands and devices increasing complexity and time consumption
Solution Approach 1:
The trochar device is designed with universal adaptability to accommodate various surgical needs. The shaft can accept different attachments including smoke evacuators and drainage tubes through standardized connections. This multi-functional design allows a single trochar system to perform multiple functions without requiring separate specialized devices for each function
5Length of moving object
If deep insertion of trochar blades is performed to reach deep anatomic structures, then access to target structures is achieved, but the risk of piercing or cutting internal organs and other internal structures increases leading to severe life-threatening complications
Solution Approach 1:
The pre-determined stop depth is calculated and marked on the trochar shaft before the surgical procedure begins, based on patient-specific anatomical measurements and the required depth to reach the target structure. This preliminary preparation ensures that the maximum safe insertion depth is established in advance, preventing accidental over-insertion while still providing adequate access to deep structures
Data Source
AI summary
A safety-stop trochar device and system for use with a trochar and surgical accessory devices. The device and system has a base into which an insert seats over which a cap secures to the base and also secures a previously inserted trochar or drainage device or smoke evacuator or surgical accessory such as an obturator and illumination device. Flexible extension wings on the base have distal suture apertures or an adhesive on the bottom of the base, or both, for securing the base to a patient. U-shaped extensions on the cap facilitate cap placement or removal onto or from the base.