Name: Rubicon Surgical Suction

Development: 2019

Role: Lead Industrial Designer

Design Leadership: Kristin Will

Team: Ben Dekock, Spencer Denton

Surgical suction is utilized in the operating room in two main ways. The first is to remove and safeguard surgical fluid, and the second is to extract smoke that may be generated during an operation. This smoke is commonly referred to as bovie smoke, and research has linked it to increased risks of lung cancer. Current surgical suction devices are typically large, and are overkill for smaller surgeries that do not require such a sizable amount of fluid retention. Rubicon Orthopedics came to Pensar in 2019 with the idea of creating a handheld surgical suction device that could be used for smaller operations as a replacement for the larger cart based system.

In collaboration with our client, we researched and evaluated analogous products and potential pumping solutions. After multiple rounds of iteration and refinement, we focused on three main architectures. Eventually taking the best parts of each and combining them into the final concept. The form factor of the final concept is reminiscent of a handheld drill like device. Fluid is pumped via the straw at the front of the device by pressing on the top of the dual trigger, and is deposited into a reservoir located in the handle. This reservoir location was chosen due to ergonomics and a desire to place the liquid weight at the bottom of the system and in the user’s hand. The bottom trigger initiates smoke extraction, which is drawn through the intake around the surgical straw, filtered through the top portion of the device, and exhausted through discreet vents located between the main housing and the battery. The interchangeable battery is located at the rear of the system closer to the user’s wrist, and acts as a counterbalance towards the main componentry of the device. In the event that increased suction is needed, the user has the ability to open up a bypass valve located on the top portion of the device to attach the cart-based surgical pump. The entire device was designed to be disassembled and sterilized via an autoclave. The project concluded with the concept design and a detailed development plan that ranged from discovery through delivery for the client to secure funding from investors. Concept publicly available on Rubicon’s website.

Main housing: Surgical grade stainless steel

Fluid reservoir: Clear Tritan plastic, MT11010

Suction Straw: Clear Tritan plastic, MT11010

Battery Housing: Black, fire resistant Tritan plastic, MT11020