This application is a national stage filing under 35 U.S.C. § 371 of international application number PCT/CN2022/093662, filed May 18, 2022, which claims priority to Chinese patent application No. 202110968127.2, filed Aug. 23, 2021. The contents of these applications are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety.
The disclosure is related to medical device, especially a portable minimally invasive surgical mechanical arm with multi-degree of freedom.
Along with the progress in medical science, minimally invasive surgery gains popularity in clinic treatment with advantages of smaller wounds, less pain and faster recovery. Specific mechanical arms are essential to performing the operation in a laparoscopic or thoracoscopic surgery.
In endoscopic surgeries, surgical instruments can only penetrate into the patient's body through a small incision of about 1 cm on the patient's body to perform complex surgical actions such as exploration, cutting, hemostasis and suturing, which put forward high requirements for mechanical arms with high degree of freedom. At present, the sophisticated minimally invasive surgical system represented by da Vinci surgical robot has high precision, high efficiency and powerful function, and both doctors and patients have good practical experience. However, due to the complex and bulky structure, expensive cost, complex procedure of operation and maintenance, the application range is limited. And additionally, the price of da Vinci surgical robot service is not acceptable for patients with limited economic conditions.
Therefore, various minimally invasive surgical mechanical arms have become the most convenient choice in the current minimally invasive surgery. The basic structure of the minimally invasive surgical mechanical arm comprises a blade part, a blade joint assembly, a shaft and a handle. The blade part and the handle are respectively installed at the two ends of the shaft, controlling wires are disposed inside the shaft, and a joint assembly for controlling wire is disposed at the end near the handle so that the blade joint assembly at the other end can be controlled by the handle. Degrees of freedom of the prior mechanical arms are limited, the flexibility of the blade joint assembly is not satisfying which makes the operation inefficient. And as the handle is coaxial with the shaft, the operation posture is inconsistent with the requirements of ergonomics which causes fatigue to the user. Such limitation has negative effects on the efficiency and safety of the operation.
The objective of the disclosure is to provide a portable minimally invasive surgical mechanical arm with multi-degree of freedom, the blade part of which can swing and rotate freely, simplifying the operation and improving the ergonomics.
A portable minimally invasive surgical mechanical arm with multi-degree of freedom comprises a blade part, a blade joint assembly, a shaft and a handle. The blade part is installed at one end of the shaft by the blade joint assembly, and the handle is installed at the other end of the shaft. The shaft comprises a plurality of controlling wires and a controlling wire joint assembly arranged at the other end. The controlling wire joint assembly and the blade joint assembly are connected by the plurality of controlling wires. The handle comprises a grip part, a handle joint assembly and a controlling mechanism. The grip part comprises a grip portion and an axle part. The axle part is movably connected to the handle joint assembly and the handle joint assembly comprises a first axis and a second axis that are mutually perpendicular to each other allowing the axle part to rotate around the first axis and the second axis respectively, wherein the first axis coincides with the axis of the axle part, and the second axis is perpendicular to the shaft. The controlling mechanism connects the axle part and the controlling wire joint assembly, and is used for transferring the movement of the handle to the controlling wire joint assembly. The controlling mechanism comprises a four-link mechanism, and the four-link mechanism comprises an input piece, two push rods and an output piece, and the two push rods are connected with the input piece and the output piece respectively, with the input piece receiving movements of the axle part and the output piece being a part of the controlling wire joint assembly.
Preferably, the grip part is set on one side of the shaft, so that a holding direction of the grip part is intersected with an axial direction of the shaft.
The user can grasp and operate the mechanical arm with a more natural gesture, so that it is flexible and convenient to operate the mechanical arm and the ergonomics can be improved. The user can control the blade joint assembly by moving the wrist of the holding hand, dispense with double-hand operating and simplifying the operation method.
Preferably, the grip part also comprises a shell fixedly installed with respect to the shaft, and the shell accommodates the handle joint assembly and the controlling mechanism. The handle joint assembly comprises an inner cylinder with the first axis as an axis, the inner cylinder is nested in the shell, and the inner cylinder can rotate around its own axis relative to the shell. The axle part is connected to the inner cylinder with a pivot and is axially aligned with the inner cylinder; and the pivot is arranged along the second axis.
Preferably, the grip part also comprises a shell fixed to the shaft, and the shell accommodates the handle joint assembly and the controlling mechanism. The handle joint assembly comprises an inner cylinder and an outer cylinder with the first axis as an axis, and the axle part is set in the inner cylinder being rotatable around its own axis relative to the outer cylinder, and the outer cylinder is connected to the shell with a pivot, and the pivot is arranged along the second axis.
Preferably, the handle also comprises a shell fixed to the shaft and the shell accommodates the handle joint assembly and the controlling mechanism. The handle joint assembly is a ball joint including a joint ball and a support socket, and the joint ball is set at the end nearer to the shaft of the axle part, while the support socket is fixed on the shell, and an axis of an opening of the support socket is the first axis.
Preferably, the controlling wire joint assembly comprises a third axis and a fourth axis perpendicular to each other, allowing the controlling wire joint assembly to rotate in the same direction with the axle part to drive the controlling wires, so that the blade joint assembly is driven to bend. Because of the controlling wire joint assembly, the blade joint assembly bend in the direction same with the user's wrist gesture which is customary to the operation habit in the operation.
Preferably, the input piece of the four-link mechanism is a push-rod-plate, and the center of the push-rod-plate is on the first axis, and the push-rod-plate is pivotedly connected with the axle part in the direction parallel to the second axis. In operation, the push-rod-plate can rotate around the first axis, which makes the controlling mechanism small and compact. The bending moment of the push rods is reduced due to the pivoted connection with the axle part improving the service life of the part.
Preferably, the handle comprises a locking system, and the locking system comprises a locking switch, a locking transmission and a brake. The locking switch is located on the grip part, and the locking switch is connected to one end of the locking transmission while the brake is connected to the other end of the locking transmission. The locking switch has two states of locking and releasing, and when the locking switch is in the state of locking, the locking transmission drives the brake to a locking position to lock the handle joint assembly or the input piece of the four-link mechanism, so that the four-link mechanism is frozen; and when the locking switch is in the state of releasing, the brake moves out of the locking position leaving the input piece movable. The blade joint assembly can be locked by the locking system in operation so that the blade part is in a fixed position improving the operation safety.
Preferably, the handle comprises a blade switch rod and a blade controlling wire, and the blade switch rod is connected with the blade part through the blade controlling wire to make the blade part open or close. The blade switch rod is installed on the grip part. The blade switch rod and the grip part are arranged in the shape of herringbone, so that a user can pull the blade switch rod with fingers when holding the grip portion in hand. The handle also comprises a blade rotating knob, and the blade rotating knob is connected with the blade part through an elastic shaft for controlling the blade part rotating around its axis. The blade rotating knob is installed on the grip part and is set in an upper location to the blade switch rod allowing a user to turn the blade rotating knob with an index finger when holding the grip portion. The user can hold the handle and make the mechanical arm perform bending, rotating, locking and making the blade part open or close with one hand, avoiding double-hand operating, simplifying the operation, and improving the efficiency of surgeries.
Optionally, the blade part comprises electrosurgical instruments, and both of the shaft and the handle contain power lines for the electrosurgical instruments. The handle comprises an electrosurgical instrument switch, which is adjacent to the blade rotating knob allowing a user to operate the electrosurgical instrument switch with an index finger when holding the grip portion.
Preferably, the axle part is hollow allowing the blade controlling wire and the elastic shaft extend through the axle part. The hollow axle part compacts the handle, optimizes the volume and reduces the weight.
Optionally, the shaft comprises a straight segment and a bending segment, and the straight segment and the handle are connected by the bending segment with the grip part of the handle located on an extension cord of the straight segment. The bending segment allows the relative position of the handle and the knife head to be adjusted according to the actual use scenario, making the operation more flexible.
Previous figures are presented for a fuller understanding of the nature and design objects rather than as restriction for embodiments of the present invention. Wherein the x, y, z are coordinate system set for better illustrating the spatial relationship in the figures. The meanings of the signs and coordinate systems in each Fig. remain consistent. The previous figures are schematic illustration of the embodiments rather than accurate drawings including all the details of the parts.
Further detailed description shall be made by the following embodiments in conjunction with the drawings.
As shown in
The structure of the controlling wire joint assembly 12 is shown in
When the mechanical arm is utilized in operation, the shaft 3 is inserted into the patient's body through a surgical incision, and its position is relatively fixed. The user holds the grip part 5 with one hand, makes the axle part 8 rotate by moving the wrist of the holding hand, so that the bending blade joint assembly drives the blade part towards a direction required by surgical operation.
As the fulcrum rod 9 and the push rods 11 are flexible rods, the motion component, which generated by the push-rod-plate 10 following the fulcrum rod 9 rotating around the pivot 17 with the second axis in the z-axis direction, can be absorbed by the elastic deformation of the fulcrum rod 9 and the push rods 11, reducing the stress of the hinge structure; the push-rod-plate 10 is pivotedly connected with the fulcrum rod 9, and can rotate around the y-axis, eliminating the angle change caused by the rotation of the fulcrum rod 9, so that the push-rod-plate 10 is always parallel to the xy-plane, optimizing the stress state of the fulcrum rod 9 and the push-rod-plate 10. As a result, the service life of the relevant parts are prolonged and the reliability of the mechanical arm is improved.
As shown in
In another embodiment, as shown in
In another embodiment, an electrosurgical instrument is integrated to the blade part 1, the electrosurgical instrument can be a high-frequency electrotome, an ultrasonic knife or an argon gas knife. As shown in
The handle 4 is equipped with a blade switch rod 24 and a blade rotating knob 25. As shown in
As shown in
This situation can be optimized by a preferable embodiment illustrated by
When the grip part 5 rotates around the pivot 17 with the second axis, the outer cylinder is driven to rotate together; when the grip part 5 rotates around the first axis 14, the parallel relationship between the pivot 17 with the second axis and the y-axis is remained, thereby ensuring that the pivot 17 with the second axis is always paralleled with the fourth axis 19 of the controlling wire joint assembly. So that interference between the grip part 5 rotating around the first axis 14 and the grip part 5 rotating around the pivot 17 with the second axis is eliminated, reducing the additional stress on the controlling mechanism caused by the combined movements of grip part 5 simultaneously rotating around the first axis 14 and around the pivot 17 with the second axis, improving the service life of the parts and optimizing the smoothness of the bending movement of the blade joint assembly 2.
In another embodiment, as shown in
Preferably, the support socket 33 is provided with a positioner, so that the joint ball can only rotate around the z axis and the y axis, but cannot rotate around the x axis, so as to reduce the additional moment borne by the fulcrum rod 9, and improve the reliability of the parts.
Preferably, the brake pivot 35 is provided with a spring shaft. When the locking switch 20 is turned to the releasing position, the elasticity of the spring shaft boosts the rotation of the lever 21, so that the brake 22 and the brake pad 34 can be rapidly separated, improving the agility of the brake termination process of mechanical arm, and optimizing the effectiveness of the operation.
In another embodiment, a rubber brake piece is arranged on the outside of the joint ball 31. One end of the locking transmission 21 is connected with the brake switch 20, and the other end is connected with a brake rod installed in the support socket 33. The brake rod is provided with a rubber pressing part that fits the arc surface of the joint ball. When the brake switch 20 is pulled, the locking transmission 21 drives the brake rod to press the brake piece from the outside of the joint ball 31. The joint ball 31 is prevent from rotating relative to the support socket 33 by the friction, achieving the braking. The pressing part of the brake rod is arranged on the outside of the joint ball 31, improving the contact area that contributes to the friction, and achieving braking more effectively.
In another embodiment, as shown in
The purpose of the above embodiments is to provide a more detailed description of the disclosure in conjunction with the attached drawings so that the person in the art can achieve a better understanding of the technical concept of the disclosure, rather than to constitute a limitation on the embodiments of the disclosure. Within the scope of the claimed rights of the disclosure, equivalent replacement and improvement of the parts and structures of the disclosure, or combination of the embodiments without structural conflict, are all within the protection scope of the disclosure.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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202110968127.2 | Aug 2021 | CN | national |
Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind |
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PCT/CN2022/093662 | 5/18/2022 | WO |
Publishing Document | Publishing Date | Country | Kind |
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WO2023/024600 | 3/2/2023 | WO | A |
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20250000572 A1 | Jan 2025 | US |