Improve precision and reduce risk

Reducing the scale of any intervention is a common aim in surgery, enabling the patient to recover more quickly. Miniature robotic tools can facilitate a reduction in the scope of the surgery. In addition, linking the position of the tool to a patient’s CT scans improves precision and reduces risk. Reducing the surgeon’s fatigue requires the minimization of the size of hand-held operat-ing tools. This manufacturer had the twin goals of reducing the weight of their hand-held robotic tool and improving its reliability. The key goals were:

• Reduce size and weight of hand-held tool
• Minimize interference with other equipment by reducing noise generated
• Reliable solution required

Lightweight 24V conversion to drive motors and controls

Power for the tool came from a 55V medically isolated bus and required conversion to 24V within the tool to drive the motors and control circuitry. To save space and weight a DCM DC-DC converter was selected that provided the 300W required in a footprint of just 8.8 cm² and a weight of only 24g. The converter featured a low noise switching topology and also provided isolation, helping to reduce EMI from the device. Key benefits were:

• DCM offered high power density (1kW/in³) and low weight (24g)
• Low noise topology provided isolation and reduced filtering required
• DCM’s high level of integration significantly increased reliability