{"id":"03966","slug":"steeltown-retractor--03966","source":{"id":"03966","dataset":"techtransfer","title":"Steeltown Retractor","description_":"<p>In abdominal surgery, existing surgical retractor systems require surgeons to locate and assemble dozens of pieces in the correct order during a surgery, and adjustments require a partial tear-down and rebuild of the system before the surgery can progress. Setting up and adjusting surgical retractor systems regularly consumes 5 to 20 minutes of operating room (OR) time, which costs about $100 per minute. Further, the geometry of the retractor system limits retractor positioning, which requires the use of handheld retractors for hard-to-reach locations. Finally, after the surgery is complete, cleaning and sterilizing the system’s dozens of components takes another 2 to 3 hours. The combined US and European market opportunity for an easy-to-use, time-saving replacement for 2 million open abdominal surgeries annually is estimated at $235 million.</p><p><h2>Description</h2>Steeltown Retractor provides surgeons with rapid and precise surgical exposures while minimizing OR and overhead costs for the hospital. The system consists of two simple-to-use parts: a motorized base unit that quickly clamps to the OR table and a retractor-carrying flexible arm. The surgical team simply peels the arm from a sterile pack, snaps it onto the base, and discards it after use. Steeltown Retractor’s flexible arm provides a simple, intuitive interface that allows surgeons to rapidly reposition surgical tools as if they were handheld retractors. Surgeons simply press a button on the arm to make it flexible, move the arm to the desired position, release the button to make the arm rigid again, and then lock the retractor in place. The motorized base unit carries out the actuation. Team-affiliated surgeons have evaluated proof-of-concept prototypes for form and function.</p><p><h2>Applications</h2>· Surgical retraction\r<br>· Limb positioning</p><p><h2>Advantages</h2>· Simplified user experience\r<br>· Unconstrained retractor positioning options\r<br>· Minimal setup and adjustment time\r<br>· Eliminates sterilization requirements</p><p><h2>Invention Readiness</h2>Development of generation-III pre-commercial devices is ongoing and in real-application use.</p><p><h2>IP Status</h2><a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https://patents.google.com/patent/US12042343B2\">https://patents.google.com/patent/US12042343B2</a></p><p></p>","tags":["Minimally invasive"],"file_number":"03966","collections":[],"meta_description":"Motorized base with disposable, adjustable retractor arm enables rapid, precise abdominal exposures, reducing OR time and sterilization.","image_url":"","apriori_judge_output":"{\"scores\":{\"novelty\":4.0,\"potential_impact\":4.0,\"readiness\":4.0,\"scalability\":3.0,\"timeliness\":2.0},\"weighted_score\":3.52,\"risks\":[\"Date of tech readiness (2016) may imply outdated data or lower timeliness\",\"Regulatory pathway for medical devices can be lengthy\",\"Competition from established retractors and disposable products\",\"Reliance on successful clinical adoption not guaranteed\"],\"one_sentence_take\":\"High novelty and impact with solid readiness, but timeliness risk and competitive/regulatory hurdles temper the overall potential.\"}","lead_inventor_name":"Jeffrey Vipperman","lead_inventor_dept":"Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science","technology_type":"Medical Device","technology_subtype":"Surgical Medical Device","therapeutic_areas":["Other"],"therapeutic_indications":[],"custom_tags":[],"all_tech_innovators":["Peter David Allen MD","Christopher Michael Dumm","Garth Abraham Elias","Tyler Michael Ferris","Mark Scaife MD","Jeffrey S. Vipperman"],"date_submitted":"2016-06-20","technology_readiness_level":"4. Prototype testing and refinement"},"highlight":{},"matched_queries":null,"score":0.0}