Uterine Manipulator With Remote Center Motion for Intuitive Control
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional uterine manipulators require manual adjustment by surgical assistants, leading to delayed surgery times and potential organ damage due to non-ergonomic movement and lack of intuitive operation.
Innovation Solution
A uterine manipulator with a housing, extension part, and tip that allows for four degrees of freedom through rolling, pitching, yawing, and linear movement, featuring a remote center motion mechanism and power transmission parts for precise control.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If manual adjustment by surgical assistants is used, then the uterus position can be adjusted, but surgery time is delayed and operation accuracy is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The uterine manipulator enables the main operator to directly control the device without requiring assistance from additional surgical staff. The automated robotic system performs manipulation tasks that would otherwise require manual adjustment by assistants, allowing the operator to self-manage the procedure and eliminate waiting time for positional adjustments.
2Productivity
If automated in-uterus manipulation robot is used, then surgery time is reduced, but movement is not ergonomic and may cause damage to patient's organs
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of having the robot move in non-ergonomic ways to achieve manipulation, the system inverts the approach by designing the control interface to match natural human hand movements. The master control unit translates ergonomic hand motions into corresponding robotic manipulator movements, ensuring that high-speed automation does not compromise safety or require unnatural motion patterns that could damage organs.
3Productivity
If automated in-uterus manipulation robot is used, then surgery time is reduced, but manipulation scheme is not intuitive and takes time for operator to become proficient
Solution Approach 1:
The master control unit creates a virtual copy of the surgical operator's hand movements and translates them directly to the robotic manipulator. This copying mechanism preserves the intuitiveness of natural hand motions while achieving automated manipulation speeds, allowing operators to use familiar ergonomic gestures without requiring extensive retraining on complex robotic control schemes.
4Adaptability or versatility
If conventional auxiliary devices are inserted into vagina, then uterus position can be adjusted, but additional surgical assistant is required
Solution Approach 1:
The system merges the functions of multiple components into a single integrated robotic manipulator that can be controlled by one operator. The device combines the auxiliary positioning function with automated control capabilities, eliminating the need for separate manual adjustment mechanisms and additional surgical assistants, thereby reducing overall system complexity despite advanced functionality.
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2
Figure 3
AI summary
Disclosed is a uterine manipulator that may automatically adjust a location and a posture of a uterus according to an input of a user. The uterine manipulator according to the inventive concept may allow a motion of a total of four degrees of freedom with a rotation of a 3 degree of freedom of rolling, pitching, and yawing, and a linear movement of one degree of freedom in a forward/rearward direction, and because the tip may be adjusted in a narrow space, surgical preciseness may be enhanced. Furthermore, because the surgical operator may manipulate the uterus through a direct input, a surgical time may be shortened.