I-Corps: Morphing Minimally Invasive Surgery Instruments

这个I-Corps项目的更广泛的影响/商业潜力是对微创手术系统市场产生影响，全球微创手术系统市场超过240亿美元，预计到2025年将增长到400亿美元以上。对越来越小的切口的期望导致需要减小尺寸并增加腹腔镜手术工具的功能。所提出的器械联合收割机将多个腹腔镜手术工具（例如，抓紧器、内窥镜和密封器）组合成单个器械，从而减少了切换器械的时间（和相关成本）。该技术能够通过单个切口将多个工具插入手术空间，从而减少切口数量、手术时间、恢复时间和患者疼痛，同时还改善了美容效果。该产品还可以降低成本，使微创手术系统更便宜的医疗保健系统和世界各地的患者。这个I-Corps项目将评估通过应用基础研究开发机制来创建下一代微创手术器械。所提出的腹腔镜器械利用了可开发机构的顺应和显现能力，并且将多个手术器械联合收割机组合成单个器械，从而减少了执行手术所需的套管（手术杆）的数量和所需的切口的数量。更少的切口导致更快的恢复时间，更少的疼痛，并改善美容。通过将多个仪器集成到一个单元中，该技术还能够减少外科手术所需的单元数量，从而降低仪器和灭菌成本。 可展机构是一类新的运动机构，它们可以符合或嵌入可展曲面。可开发的机制是一种简单、干净的方法，可以在不增加材料或增加复杂性的情况下为现有的轴或管增加功能。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

The broader impact/commercial potential of this I-Corps project is to make an impact on the minimally invasive surgical systems market, which is greater than $24 billion globally and is projected to grow to more than $40 billion by 2025. The desire for increasingly smaller incisions leads to a need for decreased size and increased functionality of laparoscopic surgical tools. The proposed instruments combine multiple laparoscopic surgical tools (e.g. graspers, endoscopes, and sealers) into a single instrument, reducing the time (and associated cost) of switching instruments. The technology enables multiple tools to be inserted into the surgical space through a single incision, which reduces the number of incisions, operating time, recovery time, and patient pain, while also improving cosmetics. This product could also decrease costs and make minimally invasive surgical systems more affordable for healthcare systems and patients worldwide.This I-Corps project will evaluate creating next-generation minimally invasive surgery instruments by applying fundamental research in developable mechanisms. The proposed laparoscopic instruments take advantage of developable mechanisms' conforming and emerging ability and combine multiple surgical instruments into a single instrument, thereby decreasing the number of cannulas (surgical rods) needed to perform a surgery and the number of incisions required. Fewer incisions leads to faster recovery time, less pain, and improved cosmetics. By integrating multiple instruments into a single unit, this technology will also be able to decrease the number of units required for surgical procedures and thereby decrease instrument and sterilization costs. Developable mechanisms are a new class of kinematic mechanism that can conform to or be embedded in developable surfaces. Developable mechanisms are a simple, clean way to add functionality to existing shafts or tubes without adding material or increasing complexity.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.