Value Proposition
· Increased utility: The disclosed technology allows for a wirelessly guided (tether-less) needle to generate sufficient force for tissue penetration while maintaining a small size. It utilizes a novel impact mechanism to improve the capabilities of magnetic penetration devices used in surgeries by overcoming force limitations.
· Safe, effective, and broadly applicable: This method has the potential to significantly advance the field of magnetic surgery, enabling more complex procedures with minimal invasiveness. This technology may lead to advancements in areas such as eye surgery, biopsy procedures, and other interventions requiring precise, small-scale force applications.
Unmet Need
· Magnetic penetration devices, often used as magnetic-assisted surgical devices, utilize magnetic forces to reduce the invasiveness of procedures by minimizing incisions and increasing precision.
· However, current magnetic surgical tools face challenges such as force limitations (insufficient force for tissue penetration at small scales), size constraints (previous impact-based devices were too large for minimally invasive procedures), and limited degrees of freedom (operating along only one axis) [1]
· Therefore, there is a strong need for advancements in magnetic penetration device technology to expand the capabilities of magnetic robotic surgery.
Technology Description
· Researchers at Johns Hopkins have developed a new wireless (tether-less) needle that uses an impact force-based mechanism to penetrate tissue effectively while maintaining a small size.
· The disclosed technology uses a tapping motion with sliding magnets and a rigid plate to create a strong momentary force at the needle tip, significantly stronger than what the small magnets can produce on their own.
· It can generate 22.7 times more penetration force than similar magnetically guided needles, while being over 20 times smaller in volume compared to previous impact-based magnetic devices, and can penetrate with 3-degrees-of-freedom (DOF) planar motion [1].
Stage of Development
· The disclosed technology is in the prototype phrase, with the researchers currently validating the system in more advanced experiments.
Publication
Erin, O., Liu, X., Ge, J., Opfermann, J., Barnoy, Y., Mair, L.O., Kang, J.U., Gensheimer, W., Weinberg, I.N., Diaz-Mercado, Y. and Krieger, A. (2022), Overcoming the Force Limitations of Magnetic Robotic Surgery: Magnetic Pulse Actuated Collisions for Tissue-Penetrating-Needle for Tetherless Interventions. Adv. Intell. Syst., 4: 2200072. https://doi.org/10.1002/aisy.202200072
