Tissuebond™ applicator
Client
Tissuemed
Description
Light activated surgical sealant system
Date
2000
Activities
- Design for Manufacture
- Human Factors, Usability and Inclusivity
- Industrial Design
- Mechanical Engineering
- Production Support
- Prototyping
Awards
- Medical Design Excellence Awards
In association with our client, Tissuemed, DCA designed an applicator for the revolutionary new surgical sealant, tissuebond™.
tissuebond™ will save surgeons valuable time and aid patient care during cardiovascular operations by allowing surgeons to do other tasks instead of having to stem bleeding. The sealant is activated using a purpose designed medical light, the tissuemed 180 Lightsource.
The applicator is a disposable single-use delivery system, similar in size and shape to a pen, using a side-mounted finger-controlled lever to allow the precise delivery of a continuous bead of adhesive. The design process for the applicator involved a detailed study of surgeons’ needs and current practices to form a firm basis for concept generation and exploration. Having created a range of design concepts, we constructed working models and rigs of the favoured designs to determine the optimum ergonomic solution. DCA also liaised closely with a specialist moulder to optimise the design of the components to suit high-volume manufacture. Only four components, made of medical grade injection moulded polypropylene and high-density polyethylene, make up the applicator. Many innovative features have been designed into the device, including a cap that seals the tip during transportation and in storage, but also prevents accidental operation of the control lever and provides an optional extension piece to give surgeons greater flexibility during use.
I believe that tissuebond™ will allow better sealing of vascular grafts and blood vessels to prevent blood loss and possible complications. As a result tissuebond™ may reduce theatre time for vascular procedure and help to improve patient care.
Mr Jonathan Beard, a consultant surgeon at the Vascular Institute, Northern General Hospital, Sheffield.
Tissuemed 180 Lightsource system
We also developed the Tissuemed 180 Lightsource instrument that, in contrast to the applicator, is designed for low-volume manufacture and therefore uses processes such as RIM casting, CNC machining, and metal fabrication using laser profiled blanks.
As part of the design and development of the instrument, a key requirement was for a replaceable lamp cartridge for a 180W Xenon element. The lamp cartridge had to be quick and easy to replace whilst achieving a highly accurate alignment with a sensitive optical system.
