State-of Art Digest: Endoscopic Powered Linear Stapler (iv)

As discussed lately, there are two main road paths for the development of powered linear staplers. One is the classical design of Ethicon, Inc. based on cartridge reload, another is the path of 美敦力 which combined distal jaws together with part of the shaft as an interchangeable reloading unit. The latter, Signia, originated from a prototype product named iDrive Ultra Stapling System.

The term 'stapling system' unveiled its ambition on integrating various surgical functions into one device. The proximal handpiece is reusable and sterilizable and could be attached with different customized functional parts like linear stapling unit, circular stapling unit, etc. The drawbacks of this device are reliability on resterilization, inconvenient interchange experience, and heavy handpiece. This inspired the birth of 'Signia' from Medtronic Surgical Innovations which lightweight the whole device, redesigned the interchangeable unit, and included a translucent plastic protective cover. In the meantime, another player noticed the great potential of the iDrive Stapling System and redesigned their own product: E-Stapling System from IntoCare Medical .

The concept of the E-Stapling system inherited the idea of the iDrive Stapling System which enables one handpiece to match multiple functional units. Each handpiece is equipped with two programmed triggers to control different functional units. The handpieces are available in white for single-use and black for reuse.

The linear stapler function is composed of two components. The proximal operation part and the distal interchangeable unit. The whole design is rather classical and there is not much need to be explained. One thing worth mentioning is that the design does not facilitate a manual override to reverse the blade. The proximal blade reverse window only informs the surgeon where the blade is during the surgery.

Once attached, the chip within the handpiece would run a diagnosis to tell which functional parts and in this case which staple heights are installed. The program would be switched to proper functions. The slightly bigger top trigger would be responsible to close the distal jaws and fire the staples once the safety button is pressed. One interesting finding about this safety button is that it will always pop up when pressing the opposite.

Some Specs