Angled Ear Endoscope with Integrated Suction
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current middle ear surgery techniques using handheld endoscopes are hindered by ergonomic imbalances, limited dexterity, and the inability to simultaneously use suction devices and visualization tools, leading to potential damage and fatigue during procedures.
Innovation Solution
A compact, one-handed ear endoscope system integrating a visualization component and a suction mechanism, allowing for flexible positioning and operation with a single hand, enabling simultaneous visualization and suction during ear surgery.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Illumination intensity
If a standard endoscope with a long shaft is used for visualization, then the surgeon can see inside the ear, but the surgeon must hold the handle in the air over the patient's head with an unsupported hand, which can easily lead to accidental movement and damage to delicate ear structures
Solution Approach 1:
The endoscope shaft is bent at an angle (e.g., 90-155 degrees) to redirect the line of sight from a straight-ahead position to an angled position, allowing the surgeon to rest the hand on the patient's head while maintaining visualization of the ear canal and middle ear structures
Solution Approach 2:
The angled shaft configuration allows the surgeon's hand to be supported by the patient's head rather than being suspended in air, effectively counterbalancing the weight and reducing fatigue while maintaining stable positioning
2Illumination intensity
If a standard endoscope is used for visualization, then the surgeon can see inside the ear, but the endoscope is much heavier than surgical tools, creating ergonomic imbalance and arm/hand fatigue
Solution Approach 1:
The angled shaft redirects the visualization path, allowing the heavier endoscope to be positioned in a way that leverages the patient's head for support rather than requiring the surgeon to fully support the weight with an elevated arm, reducing fatigue
Solution Approach 2:
The endoscope is designed to be held and stabilized in multiple positions (including resting on the patient's head), making it adaptable to different surgical scenarios and reducing the burden of its weight through versatile positioning options
3Illumination intensity
If the surgeon holds the endoscope in one hand, then visualization is achieved, but that hand is no longer free to hold a suction device or surgical tool
Solution Approach 1:
The suction device is integrated with the endoscope by coupling it to the shaft, allowing both visualization and suction functions to be performed simultaneously from a single hand-held device, freeing the other hand for surgical manipulation
Solution Approach 2:
The endoscope is designed to perform multiple functions (visualization and suction) through integrated components, making it a multi-functional device that reduces the number of separate tools needed and improves surgical efficiency
4Ease of operation
If a standard endoscope with a straight shaft is used, then the surgeon can hold it in a direct line, but this position blocks the microscope's line of vision and makes it impossible to use both endoscope and microscope simultaneously
Solution Approach 1:
The bent shaft angles the endoscope's line of sight away from the direct forward path, creating a separate visualization channel that does not interfere with the microscope's optical path, allowing both devices to be used simultaneously without blocking each other
5Ease of operation
If straight shafts are used for multiple tools held in two hands, then the tools can be positioned close together, but the tools tend to bump into one another during manipulation
Solution Approach 1:
The bent shaft introduces an angular dimension to the tool's orientation, allowing it to be positioned at an angle relative to the other hand's tools, thereby reducing interference and collisions during manipulation while maintaining close hand positioning
Data Source
AI summary
A device for visualizing and providing suction for a surgical procedure in an ear may include a handle, a main shaft extending from the handle, an imaging sensor at a distal end of the main shaft, a light source at the distal end of the main shaft, and a suction shaft extending from the handle. The device may also include a spring coupled with the suction shaft and/or the handle, such that when the suction shaft is advanced in a distal direction and then released, the suction shaft retracts automatically. The suction shaft may have a distal curved portion, and the device may have a thumb depress portion that allows a user to spin the suction shaft to suction in different directions. Some embodiments may include a suction shaft with a sharp distal tip that is configured for placing an ear tube in the tympanic membrane.