US-20260123950-A1 - SURGICAL SYSTEM HAVING INTERCHANGEABLE TOOL TIPS AND METHODS OF USE THEREOF

US20260123950A1US 20260123950 A1US20260123950 A1US 20260123950A1US-20260123950-A1

Abstract

Systems and methods for performing surgery are provided, which permit multiple tool tips to be interchanged within an instrument shaft during a minimally invasive procedure. The surgical device holds a plurality of interchangeable tool tips such that a selected tool tip from a chamber of a magazine can be mounted at the distal end of an elongated shaft for a laparoscopic surgery. In this manner, multiple tool types can be interchanged within a shaft without having to remove the instrument from the patient for tool changes, thereby increasing surgical efficiencies and reducing the number of tools needed for a procedure.

Inventors

Philipp PREISSLER
Thomas Wegele

Assignees

SYMPHERA GMBH

Dates

Publication Date: 20260507
Application Date: 20251231
Priority Date: 20240115

Claims (20)

1 . A method for performing a surgical procedure, the method comprising: positioning a first tool tip of a plurality of interchangeable tool tips at a distal end of an elongated shaft of a surgical device for performing a first type of surgical task, the first tool tip releasably coupled to a distal region of a tool activation mechanism; receiving, via a user interface, user input indicative of a second tool tip of the plurality of interchangeable tool tips for performing a second type of surgical task, the second tool tip disposed within a magazine comprising a plurality of chambers and positioned at a proximal end of the elongated shaft, each chamber of the plurality of chambers configured to receive an interchangeable tool tip therein; retracting the first tool tip into a first chamber of the plurality of chambers using the tool activation mechanism; selectively actuating, via at least one motor operatively coupled to the magazine, the magazine to align a second chamber of the plurality of chambers with the proximal end of the elongated shaft based on the user input, the second chamber having the second tool tip therein; and transitioning the tool activation mechanism between a retracted configuration where the distal region of the tool activation mechanism is disposed proximal to the second chamber and an extended configuration where the distal region is releasably coupled to the second tool tip and advanced such that the second tool tip is mounted at the distal end of the elongated shaft for performing the second type of surgical task.
2 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the surgical device comprises a body portion coupled to the proximal end of the elongated shaft, and wherein the magazine is coupled to the body portion.
3 . The method of claim 2 , wherein the plurality of chambers are equally radially disposed about a longitudinal axis of the magazine, and wherein selectively actuating the magazine comprises rotating the magazine relative to the body portion about the longitudinal axis.
4 . The method of claim 2 , wherein transitioning the tool activation mechanism to the retracted configuration comprises receiving the tool activation mechanism within a receptacle of the body portion.
5 . The method of claim 4 , wherein receiving the tool activation mechanism within the receptacle of the body portion comprises substantially bending the tool activation mechanism about a bend axis, the bend axis substantially orthogonal to a longitudinal axis of the elongated shaft.
6 . The method of claim 2 , further comprising: actuating an actuator to rotate the elongated shaft and the second tool tip mounted thereon relative to the body portion, wherein the distal end of the elongated shaft is configured to prevent rotation of the second tool tip relative to the elongated shaft.
7 . The method of claim 6 , wherein the actuator comprises a rotatable knob disposed on the body portion, and wherein actuating the actuator comprises rotating the knob to rotate the elongated shaft and the second tool tip mounted thereon relative to the body portion.
8 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the tool activation mechanism is substantially rigid against compression and elongation and flexible against bending as the tool activation mechanism transitions between retracted the configuration and the extended configuration.
9 . The method of claim 1 , wherein selectively actuating the magazine comprises selectively actuating the magazine via a first motor of the at least one motor, and wherein transitioning the tool activation mechanism between the retracted configuration and the extended configuration comprises actuating the tool activation mechanism via a second motor of the at least one motor.
10 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the tool activation mechanism comprises a rack and an actuation rod disposed within a lumen of the rack, and wherein transitioning the tool activation mechanism between the retracted configuration and the extended configuration comprises moving the rack and the actuation rod together.
11 . The method of claim 10 , wherein the rack comprises a plurality of joint-connected rack elements.
12 . The method of claim 10 , wherein releasably coupling the distal region of the tool activation mechanism to the second tool tip comprises releasably engaging a distal end of the rack with a proximal portion of the second tool tip and releasably coupling a coupling element at a distal end of the actuation rod to an engagement portion of the second tool tip.
13 . The method of claim 12 , further comprising moving the actuation rod axially relative to the rack when the coupling element is coupled to the engagement portion to thereby actuate the second tool tip.
14 . The method of claim 13 , wherein moving the actuation rod axially relative to the rack comprises actuating, in the extended configuration, an actuation bar releasably coupled to a proximal coupling element of the actuation rod.
15 . The method of claim 14 , wherein actuating the actuation bar comprises actuating an interface of the surgical device to move the actuation rod axially relative to the rack.
16 . The method of claim 10 , wherein moving the rack comprises substantially bending the rack about a single bend axis.
17 . The method of claim 10 , wherein moving the rack comprises actuating a worm gear to cause rotation of a pinion gear operatively coupled to a geared outer surface of the rack to thereby cause translational movement of the rack via a geared connection between the pinion gear and the geared outer surface.
18 . The method of claim 1 , wherein transitioning the tool activation mechanism between the retracted configuration and the extended configuration comprises advancing the tool activation mechanism through a lumen of the elongated shaft.
19 . The method of claim 1 , wherein transitioning the tool activation mechanism between the retracted configuration and the extended configuration to retract the first tool tip into the first chamber and to mount the second tool tip at the distal end of the elongated shaft occurs while the distal end of the elongated shaft remains inserted in a patient via a trocar port.
20 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising: receiving an interchangeable tool tip of the plurality of interchangeable tool tips within a chamber of the plurality of chambers, wherein proximal movement of the interchangeable tool tip is prevented beyond a proximal end of the chamber.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS This application is a continuation-in-part application of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 19/268,369, filed Jul. 14, 2025, which is a continuation-in-part application of PCT/EP2025/050952, filed Jan. 15, 2025, which claims priority to European Patent Appl. No. 24167051.2, filed Mar. 27, 2024, and European Patent Appl. No. 24151941.2, filed Jan. 15, 2024, the entire contents of each of which are incorporated herein by reference. TECHNICAL FIELD This technology generally relates to devices for performing surgery, such as microinvasive surgical devices having interchangeable tool tips. BACKGROUND During a surgical procedure, e.g., laparoscopy, if a different tool tip is to be used, the handheld surgical device inserted within a patient must be removed and a different handheld surgical device having the desired tool tip must be introduced through the incision into the patient's body, resulting in a prolonged time in operation in which the patient may be under anesthesia. In laparoscopic surgeries, a number of different tools are used, which have to be switched an average of 20 to 50 times during the procedure. This can result in distracting workflows for surgeons and a loss of valuable surgical time. WO 2002/065933 discloses a remotely controllable surgical instrument comprising an instrument shaft having a proximal end drivably intercoupled to a drive unit and a distal end insertable within a subject for performing a medical procedure at an operative site within the subject, a remotely disposed user interface interconnected to a remotely disposed signal processor which processes commands received from the user interface, the signal processor interconnected to the drive unit for transmitting processed command signals received from the user interface to the drive unit characterized in that the instrument shaft comprises an elongated disposable shaft removably interconnected to the drive unit via a coupling mechanism and a distal instrument drivable via cables. U.S. 2007/0239186 discloses a method of performing a medical procedure (e.g., a cardiac bypass procedure) on a patient. The method comprises introducing at least one medical instrument into a patient (e.g., percutaneously), conveying control signals from a remote controller to a drive unit, and operating the drive unit in accordance with the control signals to actuate at least one tool respectively located on the medical instrument(s) to transversely secure a first anatomical vessel (e.g., a blood vessel) to a sidewall of a second anatomical vessel (e.g., another blood vessel). In one method, the control signals are conveyed from the remote controller to the drive unit in response to user commands. The user commands may be movements made at a user interface that correspond to movements of the medical instrument(s). While the prior art approaches may be satisfactory in some regards, they have certain shortcomings and disadvantages. In view of the foregoing drawbacks of previously known systems and methods, there exists a need for an improved surgical devices and method for use thereof. For example, there exists a need for surgical devices that allow for improved efficiency of surgery and methods for use of the devices. Additionally, there exists a need for surgical devices that enable more flexible usage of operating tools and method for using the devices. SUMMARY Provided herein are improved systems and methods for performing microinvasive surgery. In accordance with one aspect, a surgical device is provided. The surgical device may comprise a body portion, an elongated shaft having a proximal end coupled to the body portion, a distal end, and a lumen extending therebetween, and a magazine coupled to the body portion and comprising a plurality of chambers, each chamber configured to receive an interchangeable tool tip therein. The magazine may be configured to be selectively actuated to align a selected chamber of the plurality of chambers with the proximal end of the elongated shaft. The surgical device further may comprise a tool activation mechanism comprising a distal region configured to be releasably coupled to the interchangeable tool tip of the selected chamber. The tool activation mechanism may be configured to transition between a retracted configuration within the body portion where the distal region is disposed proximal to the selected chamber, and an extended configuration where the distal region is coupled to the interchangeable tool tip of the selected chamber and extends through the lumen of the elongated shaft such that the interchangeable tool tip is mounted at the distal end of the elongated shaft. The tool activation mechanism may be substantially rigid against compression and elongation and flexible against bending as the tool activation mechanism transitions from the extended configuration to the retracted configuration. For example, the tool activation mechanism may comprise a rack, and an act