Team 29

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 - Creighton University School of Medicine

Matt Dovgan - Creighton University School of Medicine

Michael Sobrado - Arizona State University

Olivia Burnsed - Arizona State University

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. CO2 gas is inserted into the abdomen through small incisions (1-1.5 cm) to allow the surgeon to see the organs clearly with the use of a laparoscope. During operations, the laparoscope camera can be dirtied by surrounding blood or debris. In addition, fog can build up on the lens if the temperature of the laparoscope does not match the internal body temperature which drastically reduces visibility in the patient. To clean the surface of the camera lens, the entire laparoscope must be removed from the patient, and then cleaned using a cotton swab and lens defogging solution. In addition, the opening of the port must be clean as well. The process takes several minutes each time the camera needs to be cleaned. As such, there is a need for a device that will clean the camera lens without entirely removing it from the patient. The design we are developing is a disposable lens cleaning compartment that will be added on to existing reusable and disposable trocars. Our device will clean the lens by having the operator use a reciprocating motion (back-and-forth) through the port until the lens has appropriate visibility. By adding a cleaning mechanism to pre-existing trocars, laparoscopy operation times would decrease, reducing surgical costs and risk for complications and infections. The laparoscopic device market is currently valued at 6.5 billion USD with a projected CAGR growth of 6.7% from 2021 to 2028. Due to this device having no competitors, this device will be competitive within the market.