Adjustable Medical Instrument Guide With Quick-Release Lever
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing medical instrument guides are cumbersome and restrictive, limiting their ability to accommodate different needle diameters and angles, and often require complex adjustments and additional steps, which can lead to improper alignment and increased patient discomfort during procedures.
Innovation Solution
A medical instrument guide featuring a quick-release lever, gauge indicator, and detent system that allows for easy insertion and removal of elongate instruments, accommodating multiple diameters and angles with a pivotable mechanism that minimizes lateral movement and includes a bracket for secure attachment to an imaging transducer.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If a needle guide method is used to provide known alignment between imager and medical instrument, then alignment precision is improved, but device complexity increases due to requiring multiple parts and significant manipulation to accommodate different needle sizes
Solution Approach 1:
The guide body is designed with a universal instrument-receiving channel that can accommodate multiple instrument diameters (e.g., 11-22 gauge needles) through a single device configuration. The channel dimensions and the movable insert work together to provide a universal solution that eliminates the need for multiple specialized guides for different needle sizes.
Solution Approach 2:
The insert is made movable relative to the guide body through a quick-release lever mechanism, allowing dynamic adjustment of the channel dimensions. This enables the guide to adapt to different instrument diameters on-demand during the procedure, providing both precision alignment and versatility without requiring multiple static guide configurations.
2Adaptability or versatility
If prior art needle guides are designed to accommodate multiple needle sizes, then adaptability is improved, but ease of operation deteriorates due to requiring significant manipulation and additional steps
Solution Approach 1:
The guide is pre-configured with an instrument-receiving channel that is ready to accommodate a range of instrument diameters without requiring preliminary adjustments. The quick-release lever is pre-positioned to allow rapid insertion and removal of instruments, eliminating the need for time-consuming manipulation steps during the procedure.
Solution Approach 2:
The guide is divided into distinct functional components: a stationary guide body, a movable insert, and a quick-release lever mechanism. This segmentation allows each component to perform its specific function efficiently, with the insert providing precise alignment and the lever enabling quick instrument changes without manipulating the entire guide structure.
3Device complexity
If a fixed-angle needle guide is used to simplify the design, then device complexity is reduced, but adaptability deteriorates due to offering only a single angle of attack
Solution Approach 1:
The guide incorporates a rotatable component that allows the instrument-receiving channel to be rotated to different angles relative to the imager. This dynamic adjustment capability enables the guide to adapt to various surgical approaches and target locations while maintaining a relatively simple overall structure, avoiding the need for multiple fixed-angle guides.
4Adaptability or versatility
If manual manipulation of the guide is required to change needle sizes, then adaptability is improved, but loss of time increases due to cumbersome adjustments during procedures
Solution Approach 1:
The quick-release lever is pre-positioned and spring-loaded to enable rapid instrument insertion and removal. The lever mechanism is designed to require minimal manual effort and can be operated quickly during the procedure, significantly reducing the time lost to instrument changes compared to guides requiring complex manual adjustments.
Solution Approach 2:
The spring-loaded quick-release lever provides automatic resetting after instrument insertion or removal. The mechanism self-energizes, requiring only a small initial force from the operator to trigger the action, after which the spring maintains the adjusted position without requiring continuous manual manipulation or additional time for securing.
Data Source
AI summary
A guide is provided for use with an imaging instrument, the guide including a first portion, a second portion proximate the first portion, and a cavity at least partially formed by the first and second portions, the cavity having a cavity width and configured to retain an instrument therein. The cavity width is selectively changeable to accommodate a plurality of diameters by sliding the second portion along a path with respect to the first portion.