This is a video demonstration that I recorded for the retractor described in the previous two posts. You may notice that the "wrist" portion of the retractor is significantly shorter by the end of the video. This is because I broke the retractor while recording this demo and had to shorten it to get it working correctly. The shorter version functioned much better and allowed for a tighter bend in the wrist section.
The overall retractor worked fairly well, but unfortunately was not the ideal design for the purpose it was supposed to serve. I fell prey to the common problem of overestimating the scale at which the surgery took place. I had taken measurements and looked at videos and it seemed that the abdomen was a great cavernous space with room for a 5 inch long robot. During testing I realized that realistically, the "ledge" on the liver that I would be wrapping this retractor around was very narrow. A better approach would have been to think of the retractor as pushing the liver out of the way rather than lifting it up. A better design would have been more like a tent frame that supported the liver while staying out of the way of the surgeon operating on the stomach.
The overall retractor worked fairly well, but unfortunately was not the ideal design for the purpose it was supposed to serve. I fell prey to the common problem of overestimating the scale at which the surgery took place. I had taken measurements and looked at videos and it seemed that the abdomen was a great cavernous space with room for a 5 inch long robot. During testing I realized that realistically, the "ledge" on the liver that I would be wrapping this retractor around was very narrow. A better approach would have been to think of the retractor as pushing the liver out of the way rather than lifting it up. A better design would have been more like a tent frame that supported the liver while staying out of the way of the surgeon operating on the stomach.
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