Adjustable Conductive Wire Length for Medical Sensors
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Solution Overview
Problem
The excess length of wires connecting medical sensors to equipment leads to tangling, instability, and detachment issues, causing interference, increased anxiety for patients, and delays in medical procedures, as well as incorrect diagnoses and billing issues.
Innovation Solution
A device with electrically conductive elements that can be independently moved between a stored position and an in-use position, using a housing with a primary retraction element to minimize excess wire length and maintain stability during use.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If fixed-length wires are used to connect electrodes to medical equipment, then the equipment can be easily manufactured and deployed, but the wires become excessively long, causing tangling, instability, and detachment
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies the dynamics principle by making the wire length adjustable rather than fixed. The wire can be extended or retracted based on the patient's body size and specific application requirements, allowing the system to adapt dynamically to different situations while maintaining manufacturing simplicity through a standardized adjustable mechanism.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the parameter of wire length from a fixed value to a variable parameter. By allowing the wire length to be modified according to specific needs, the system eliminates the problems of excessive length (tangling, instability) while maintaining the benefits of standardized manufacturing for common configurations.
2Adaptability or versatility
If longer wires are provided to accommodate larger patients, then adaptability increases, but wire tangling and electrical interference worsen
Solution Approach 1:
The adjustable wire length mechanism allows the system to adapt to different patient sizes without permanently committing to longer wires. The wire can be extended only as much as necessary for the specific application, minimizing excess length that would cause tangling and electrical interference while maintaining adaptability across different body types.
3Ease of operation
If excess wire length is allowed for patient movement, then ease of operation improves, but wire instability and detachment increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the wire length parameter to be adjustable rather than fixed at a maximum value. This allows optimization of the wire length for each specific situation, providing sufficient length for necessary patient movement while eliminating the excess length that causes instability and detachment, thereby balancing ease of operation with wire stability.
4Device complexity
If fixed-length wires are used, then device complexity is reduced, but incorrect diagnoses and procedure delays occur due to wire issues
Solution Approach 1:
The adjustable wire length mechanism, while adding some complexity to the device, prevents significant time losses by eliminating wire tangling, detachment, and electrical interference problems. The ability to quickly adjust wire length for different patients and situations reduces procedure delays and prevents incorrect diagnoses, thereby justifying the increased device complexity.
Data Source
AI summary
An apparatus comprising a plurality of electrically conductive elements for transmitting an electrical signal from a sensor to a medical device is described, wherein the electrically conductive elements are moveable between a first stored position and a second in use position. In this manner the apparatus provides an interface between the sensor and the medical device such that the length of each of the electrically conductive elements can be varied and adjusted such that the excess amount of the elements is minimized and the functionality of the sensors and/or medical device maximized.