Development of novel force-limiting grasping forceps with a simple mechanism

Area of Science:

• Surgical Technology
• Biomedical Engineering
• Minimally Invasive Surgery

Background:

• Fragile tissues are susceptible to damage from excessive force during endoscopic surgery.
• Conventional endoscopic instruments lack precise force control, increasing the risk of iatrogenic injury.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and evaluate novel endoscopic forceps with an integrated force-limiting mechanism.
• To compare the tissue damage induced by the novel forceps against conventional forceps in lung tissue models.

Main Methods:

• Development of endoscopic forceps incorporating a leaf spring mechanism to control grasping pressure.
• Establishment of a lung tissue damage evaluation system (0-11 points).
• Microscopic examination of canine lung tissues after grasping with conventional and novel forceps of varying spring thicknesses (1.3, 2.2, 2.8 mm).

Main Results:

• Novel forceps with grasping pressure below 187.7 kPa (2.2 mm spring) significantly reduced acute-phase lung tissue damage (median scores 2.0 vs 6.0, P=0.003).
• In the late phase, novel forceps also demonstrated significantly less damage progression compared to conventional forceps (P<0.001).
• Conventional forceps caused deeper tissue and pleural damage, while novel forceps primarily affected subpleural capillaries.

Conclusions:

• The novel endoscopic forceps effectively regulate tissue-grasping pressure.
• These forceps induce significantly less lung tissue damage than conventional instruments.
• The force-limiting mechanism enhances safety in endoscopic procedures involving delicate tissues.