Inspiration from Victorian times in ultrasonic surgical tool design

This work is devoted to the investigation of performance of surgical tools used in orthopaedics in terms of the occurrence of signs of necrosis, the accuracy of the cut and cutting tool design. For the comparison of the surgical tool performance different types of cutting devices were studied in a series of experiments. A Victorian surgical saw, its copy, a contemporary surgical saw, a surgical scalpel and an ultrasonic blade designed for a surgical application were chosen for the performance assessment. Such geometrical parameters as cutting edge shape, angle of teeth inclination, and sharpness of the cutting tools were analysed in terms of the quality of the cut and signs of necrosis. As a result of the analysis of experimental data obtained and theoretical insight the authors have come up with a creative solution for a novel design for a surgical ultrasonic blade which benefits from the design advantages of each of the analysed surgical tools and eliminates their drawbacks.