IP Requirement: Emory IP

Experience Requirement:

– Mechanical Design

– Rapid Prototyping

Surgical procedures routinely require retractors to expose soft tissues in the region of dissection. Throughout any given surgery, dozens if not hundreds of small adjustments are made to the retractor position to optimize exposure as the case progresses. Retractors are often held by surgical assistants, medical students, and/or residents, though this limits their availability to help pass instruments or perform other tasks. In many practice settings, there are limited staff scrubbed into a case to aid with retraction, thus potentially impairing surgeons’ visibility of the surgical field, efficiency, and potentially safety.

There are retractor arms on the market which clamp to the OR table and can be adjusted; however, they are cumbersome and require two hands to operate (to loosen, reposition, and then tighten the arms). A more easily and quickly adjustable, flexible retractor arm would be more practical to utilize routinely during surgical cases.

Examples of pre-existing flexible retractor arms (with manually tightened clamps):

• https://mediflex.com/products/nathanson-long-reach-monolithic-flexarm%E2%84%A2-retractor-system-with-5mm-hooks
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CtNlx3njX5Y&t=1s
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b8LVxfLSEI4&t=1s

A rapidly adjustable, low-profile surgical retractor arm that can be repositioned with one hand in a smooth, ergonomic motion would be vastly beneficial in the OR. Surgeons would be less reliant on a surgical assistant to hold and reposition the retractor, thus freeing the assistant up to perform other critical tasks during surgery. This technology would improve efficiency and revolutionize surgical retraction.