Integrated Uterine Manipulator With Variable Length Tips
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Current uterine manipulators used in surgery are of inferior quality, often slip out during procedures, and are cumbersome to use due to their separate components, making complex interactions in the uterine environment difficult and unreliable.
Innovation Solution
A uterine manipulator device that integrates a tenaculum clamp and colpotomy ring with variable length tips and a locking mechanism, allowing for secure attachment and adjustable positioning to facilitate easier handling and placement during surgeries like hysterectomies.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If current uterine manipulators (sponge sticks, tenaculum, VCare) are used, then the device structure is simple or available, but the device slips out during surgery causing complications and reliability is poor
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines multiple separate components (tenaculum clamp, colpotomy ring, variable length tips) into an integrated uterine manipulator assembly. The tenaculum clamp and colpotomy ring are connected through a shared shaft and locking mechanism, creating a unified device that prevents slippage while maintaining manageable complexity through modular design.
Solution Approach 2:
The device incorporates variable length tips that can be adjusted and locked at different positions using a locking mechanism. This dynamic adjustability allows the device to adapt to different surgical needs and patient anatomies, improving reliability without requiring multiple fixed-complexity device variants.
2Ease of operation
If separate components (tenaculum clamp and colpotomy ring) are used, then device complexity is reduced, but ease of operation becomes difficult due to complex interactions in uterine environment
Solution Approach 1:
By integrating the tenaculum clamp and colpotomy ring into a single assembled unit with shared control mechanisms, the device simplifies surgical handling. The surgeon operates one unified device rather than coordinating separate components, improving ease of operation while the modular assembly keeps manufacturing complexity manageable.
Solution Approach 2:
The integrated device performs multiple functions simultaneously - the tenaculum clamp provides uterine grasping while the colpotomy ring provides cervical support and measurement. This multi-functionality in a single device improves operational efficiency without requiring the surgeon to manage multiple separate instruments.
3Adaptability or versatility
If fixed length tips are used, then manufacturing precision is improved, but adaptability to different surgical needs and patient anatomy is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The device incorporates variable length tips with a locking mechanism that allows adjustment to different positions. This dynamic design provides adaptability to different surgical needs and patient anatomies. The locking mechanism ensures that once positioned, the tips maintain precise, stable lengths throughout the procedure, effectively resolving the contradiction between adaptability and manufacturing precision.
Solution Approach 2:
The tip assembly is segmented into multiple discrete length options that can be selected and locked into place. This segmentation allows the device to offer varied lengths (adaptability) while each individual tip position can be manufactured with standard precision, avoiding the need for continuous variable-length manufacturing.
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2
Figure 3
AI summary
An exemplary apparatus, according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, can include, for example, a uterine manipulator having a clamp arrangement having a first tip(s) and a second tip(s), and a colpotomy ring arrangement coupled to the clamp arrangement on or at the first tip(s), and including an opening(s) in an outer surface thereof for insertion of the second tip(s) therethrough when the clamp arrangement is in a closed position. In some exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure, the clamp arrangement can include a uterine manipulator. The first tip(s) can include a plurality of removable tips, where each of the tips can have a different length from one another. In certain exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure, the first tip(s) can have a variable length.