Over the course of 10 weeks I worked in a multidisciplinary team of four students to design a medical device to aid in orthopedic surgeries. We addressed the issue of clogs in suction equipment, the presence of which stall the surgery and increase the risk of infection. We developed a durable, low-cost peripheral that removes blockage in a matter of seconds, minimizing the surgery interruption created by a clog.
Stanford Institutes of Medicine
Bioengineering Program | June 2014 - August 2014
Surgical suction is commonly performed using a Yankauer, a handheld plastic straw device attached to a pump. The majority of clogs occur when bone or other biological debris become lodged in the Yankauer's tip, requiring external force to dislodge the debris. Our device allows a surgeon to quickly remove clogs by guiding the tip of the Yankauer down on a spike.
We manufactured our device from PLA, creating a robust and inexpensive peripheral that can easily be adapted into surgery kits. Tests on the design were performed by clogging a Yankauer with simulated biological debris and timing how long it took for the device to remove the blockage. In comparison to current methods of unclogging suction equipment (using an electric cauterization tool called a Bovie), our device removes debris in under half the time.
Model of device in 3D and 2D
Example of a Yankauer
3D-printed prototype of device
Results of time tests for debris removal
