Ergonomic handle for an arthroscopic cutter.

From an analysis of the routinely performed meniscectomy procedures, it was concluded that a punch with a side-ways steerable tip would improve the reachability of meniscal tissue. This potentially leads to a safer and more efficient meniscectomy. Furthermore, the current scissors handles of arthroscopic punches are ergonomically not sufficient. An ergonomic handle is designed with one lever that enables opening and closing of the instrument tip, and side-ways steering of the instrument tip. The design of the handle complies with ergonomic guidelines that were found in the literature. A model of the instrument tip was added to the new handle for comparison with conventional handles. Experiments were performed with a knee joint model, using objective and subjective criteria. The results show that the concept of a side-ways steerable punch is promising, since faster task times are achieved without increasing the risk of damaging healthy tissue. The current design of the ergonomic handle incorporates two degrees of freedom in an intuitive way, the handle is more comfortable to hold, and easy to control. The external memory capabilities of the new handle could be improved. Further development of this handle and the addition of a sufficient instrument tip and force transmission are recommended.