Surgical Staplers
Client
Frankenman International
Year
2012
Type of Work
Design development
Prototyping
Design for manufacture
Visual language
Ergonomics
During abdominal surgery, the need for hand-suturing can be removed by using surgical staplers. These utilise tiny titanium versions of the standard office staple. But instead of firing single staples, surgical staplers fire dozens whilst simultaneously cutting through tissue. And, although they are now standard instruments, there are still opportunities for improvements. We have designed a few surgical staplers for Frankenman and have innovated along the way...
The first is the linear cutter; this fires eighty staples across four rows: two rows on either side of the cut. Linear cutters are used in a variety of surgical procedures, but they are most commonly used in bowel surgery. In this major redesign, we have incorporated the complex actuation mechanism into substantially more ergonomic handles. We have also made the device’s semiotics more intuitive (to stop incomplete firings) and, critically, we’ve made it safer by incorporating an automatic interlock within the handles.
Following the success of the linear cutter, we were asked by Frankenman to redevelop their endoscopic linear cutter (Endo LC). We started by analysing the existing device to understand its mechanisms, manufacture and functional drawbacks. Following the analysis, we proposed and prototyped a broad range of improvements to simplify use for surgeons. As the project developed, we continued to refine details of the off-tool samples in collaboration with Frankenman. The new device is more intuitive to use, more comfortable to operate and builds on the brand language we developed for the original linear cutter.
We redeveloped the endo-LC’s tilting mechanism to reverse the paddle. This allowed us to move the paddle away from the rotary fluting of the barrel. It also allowed us to align the orientation of the paddle to the orientation of the cutter cartridge; making it more intuitive and easier to use.
Beyond the linear cutters, we also designed a circular stapler for use axially in bowel surgery (as opposed to cutting across the bowel). Here, as well as aligning the design language with the linear cutter, we made the device more intuitive with an improved the physical user interface.
