Team 29
Self Cleaning Trocars/Laparoscopic Port Add-On for Surgical Camera Lens
Team Members:
Prashanth Aritharan
Kaprao Fuegner
Tae-Gyeong Kim
Team Mentors:
Self Cleaning Trocars/Laparoscopic Port Add-On for Surgical Camera Lens
Team Members:
Prashanth Aritharan
Kaprao Fuegner
Tae-Gyeong Kim
Team Mentors:
Dr. Thi Tran, MD - Creighton University School of Medicine
Mr. Matt Dovgan - Medical Student, Creighton University School of Medicine
Mr. Michael Sobrado - Arizona State University, SBHSE
Dr. Olivia Burnsed, PhD - Arizona State University, SBHSE
YouTube Link:
View the video link below before joining the zoom meeting
Zoom Link:
https://asu.zoom.us/j/8230792248
Abstract
Laparoscopy is a surgical procedure that provides access to the inside of the abdomen without having to create large incisions in the skin. During operations, the laparoscope camera can be dirtied by surrounding blood or tissue debris and fog can build up on the lens due to a mismatch between laparoscope and internal body temperature, all of which drastically reduce the visibility of the camera. When this happens, the entire laparoscope must be removed from the patient, cleaned using a cotton swab and lens defogging solution, and the opening of the port must be clean as well. This process takes several minutes each time the camera needs to be cleaned, causing increased surgical times and cost.
As such, there is a need for a device that will sterilely clean the camera lens without entirely removing it from the patient. Our team, “Add-On” created a disposable lens cleaning compartment that will be added on to pre-existing disposable trocars. The compartment is made of ABS plastic with a superabsorbent microfiber for cleaning. This device includes an iris mechanism that can be opened and closed, allowing the surgeon to clean the laparoscope using a “push-twist” motion. This iris mechanism was validated using computational modeling of the maximum von Mises stress with Solidworks and flow simulation in SolidWorks also showed the iris mechanism is airtight, matching existing trocars on the market. Benchtop validation of our device showed that the Add-On device was able to effectively clean for 8-12 cycles. Our affordable Add-On device could be an effective cleaning mechanism for pre-existing trocars, which should reduce overall laparoscopy operation times and ultimately reduce costs and surgical complications.
