Low Cost Microsurgical Training Instrument
Tiny Tools, Big Impact.
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Sponsored Project by Garrison Leach, MD, from the Division of Plastic Surgery at UC San Diego Health
Don't let size fool you.
Don't let size fool you.
We aim to improve microsurgical healthcare, recognizing the importance of proper training tools for surgeons in underserved regions. Microsurgery, a specialized field within plastic surgery, focuses on the meticulous repair of injured tissues, blood vessels, and nerves using microscopic techniques. It is particularly significant in cases of trauma and cancer, as it offers a means to restore function instead of resorting to amputation. Surgeons perform these intricate procedures at an extremely small scale, aided by microscopes and precise equipment like microvascular clamps.
Microvascular clamps are used to hold blood vessels stationary and occlude blow flow so that blood vessels can be operated on. Unfortunately, current microvascular training clamps are either very expensive or ineffective, as they do not accurately mimic the feel and pressure of surgical grade clamps. By creating a low cost, high quality microvascular training clamp, our initiative seeks to enhance healthcare training, thereby improving healthcare and patient outcomes.
Check out our final design for an in depth look at our design process, manufacturing process, and performance analysis. For a brief overview of the project, check out our executive summary. Below you can also find a link to our reports and presentations for further documentation about the project.
Clamping down on the problem.
Clamping down on the problem.
We aim to accomplish the following for our microvascular training clamps:
Cost
Cost
Minimize the manufacturing costs to less than $5 per clamp. Clamps ideally manufactured at hospital site.
Performance
Performance
Engineer highly durable clamps that can last a full year, or approximately 150 uses. Clamps exert the ideal amount of pressure.
Design
Design
Design a small sized, single clamp, compatible with Rizutti Forceps Applicators. Secondary goals include manufacturing additional sizes and a double clamp design with rails.
The building blocks of precision.
The building blocks of precision.
Our final design consists of a one body 2D cut-out from an 18-8 Stainless Steel sheet metal. The cut-out then undergoes a folding process that transforms the flat 2D cut-out into the desired 3D clamp shape.
2D Cut-out
3D Clamp after Folds
Key components:
Key components:
Jaws: closes along a line to create watertight seal
Handles: lever arm for actuation
Spring: provides clamping force and stiffness
Fold Tabs: tabs to ensure folds are flush and do not unfold
Rizzuti Forceps Tabs: compatibility with Rizzuti Forceps
Other features:
Other features:
Filleted/Smooth edges to prevent punctures and cuts
1 body design for ease of manufacturability/assembly
Can be manually assembled
See it unfold.
See it unfold.
Here's a video demonstration of the medium foldable clamp assembly.
Required Materials:
1 sheet metal cut-out
1 pair of needle nosed pliers
1 crimper tool with our custom die
The cost of perfection.
The cost of perfection.
Both the small and medium sized folded clamps can be operated with the Rizzuti Forceps. Since our design consists of 1 body and a simple folding process, we were able to drive down manufacturing costs significantly. The cost of a single clamp is approximately less than $5, which costs about 90% less than current market training clamps.
Affordable without compromise.
Affordable without compromise.
Several analytical tests were conducted to evaluate the clamps' performance.
Small Clamp Specs:
Size: 3 x 4.5 x 11.5 mm
Force: 75.8 ± 25.4 g-f
Pressure: 200 mm-Hg
Medium Clamp Specs:
Size: 3.25 x 6.9 x 15.7 mm
Force: 35.0 ± 9.9 g-f
Pressure: 146 mm-Hg
On average, our foldable clamps exert a higher force than the Acland Clamps. The large differential between our small clamp and the Acland warrants a redesign. On the other hand, our medium clamp faired well against the Acland.
Compared to current plastic training clamps, our clamps performed on par or better and more similarly to the $500 Acland model, which is the current gold standard in the medical industry. Further documentation can be found on the final design, reports, and presentations pages.
Feel free to contact us with any questions or concerns!
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