Vacuum Piston Prime Mover for Lightweight Bone Surgery Tools
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current medical devices used in septic revisions, such as those for sawing, milling, brushing, or drilling bone material, face challenges with weight and cost due to electric motor usage, and compressed air systems pose contamination risks and increased operational costs.
Innovation Solution
A vacuum-powered prime mover with a piston-cylinder system and valve control system, where the working piston divides the cylinder into sections connected to a vacuum source and ambient atmosphere, ensuring consistent operation and reduced costs by using plastic components and minimizing the need for external power sources.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If electric motors are used to power medical devices, then the devices can operate reliably, but the weight increases and handling becomes more difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces the electric motor (electromechanical system) with a vacuum-powered piston-cylinder system that uses pneumatic principles. The vacuum source creates pressure differential to move the piston, eliminating the need for heavy electric motors, batteries, and complex electrical systems while maintaining reliable operation for bone cutting and tissue removal tasks
2Ease of operation
If electric motors are used in medical devices, then the devices can function properly, but the cost increases due to motor procurement and sterilization requirements
Solution Approach 1:
The patent describes a power machine that can be configured as a single-use disposable device, eliminating the need for expensive sterilization processes. The vacuum-powered system uses simple plastic components that are cheaper to manufacture and dispose of compared to electric motors, reducing both procurement and operational costs while maintaining full functionality for septic revision procedures
Solution Approach 2:
The invention extracts and eliminates the expensive electric motor component from the medical device, replacing it with a vacuum-powered system that uses readily available vacuum sources already present in operating rooms. This removes the need for expensive motor procurement, battery systems, and repeated sterilization costs
3Ease of operation
If compressed air is used to power medical devices, then the devices can operate, but contamination risk increases and operational costs rise
Solution Approach 1:
The patent converts the typically harmful factor of vacuum (which can cause contamination by drawing unsterile air into wounds) into a beneficial force that powers the device. By using vacuum instead of compressed air, the system eliminates contamination risk while maintaining operational capability for bone cutting and tissue removal in septic revision procedures
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The vacuum-powered prime mover provides reliable, safe, and cost-effective operation with consistent work frequency, reducing handling difficulties and operational costs, while being easily sterilizable and suitable for single-use medical devices.
Implementation Method 1
The first working cylinder section and the second working cylinder section are alternately subjected to negative pressure, which results in a cyclical movement of the working piston within the working cylinder
Implementation Method 2
the first valve connection can be connected to a vacuum source and the valve element connects the first valve connection to the first working cylinder section in a first valve position
Data Source
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AI summary
The invention relates to a power machine comprising a working system, comprising a first piston-cylinder system comprising a working piston and a working cylinder, wherein the working piston divides the working cylinder into a first working cylinder section and a second working cylinder section, a valve system comprising a first valve port and a valve element, wherein the valve system and the working system are connected by a gas supply, the first valve port is connectable to a vacuum source and the valve element is movably arranged in the valve system such that the valve element connects the first valve port to the first working cylinder section in a first valve position and connects the first valve port to the second working cylinder section by a gas supply in a second valve position.The invention further relates to a medical device comprising the power machine according to the invention and a method for treating a mammal with the medical device.