Medtronic Sponsored Senior Design Project
Position: Logistics Manager
Date: Fall 2022 - Spring 2023
Project Description
My senior design team and I assisted Medtronic with creating a pressure measurement device to accurately calculate the pressure across the Maryland LigaSure jaws.
Background on Medtronic and the LigaSure Device
Medtronic, one of the largest medical device companies in the world, is a leader in healthcare technology. They produce instruments that improve the quality of life for many individuals, and provide people who are ill more days to spend with their loved ones. One of the notable devices that Medtronic has created is the LigaSure, specifically the “Maryland '' model. This device is used in the removal of cancerous growths by the method of cauterization and excision. Because of the removal process, the pressure distribution across the jaw of the device is crucial to understand. Having a system that is able to measure this pressure ensures that the LigaSure devices being produced by Medtronic are technically consistent. A jaw pressure measurement system would also provide the client information about the pressure distribution on large sample groups of jaws.
FIG 1. Up close image of LigaSure device and our pressure measurement device
FIG 2. Universal Testing Machine test setup
Project Details
A test plate is used to hold any model of the Medtronic LigaSure jaw stationary, while a machined wedge is placed inside the jaws to position them at a 4° open angle. Resistive force sensors are placed at distal and proximal positions on the wedge where the jaw closes when the handle of the LigaSure device is actuated. This actuation causes an applied force on the two force-resistive sensors, and the sensors then send an output voltage to a data acquisition device. From here, a previously determined relationship between the input force and the output voltage is used to find the pressure distribution on the jaw sample. Calibration curves for the force-resistive sensors being used in the pressure testing device were found experimentally before they were incorporated into the device using a universal test machine. By taking precautions to ensure the sensors are calibrated correctly before being incorporated into the device, we can make certain the pressure distribution being measured is accurate. This accuracy allows us to model the behavior of Medtronic’s LigaSure devices during surgeries.
FIG 3. Sydney and fellow student at the Design Expo
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