Articulatable Endotracheal Tube Stylet with Manual Control
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current endotracheal tube devices face challenges in visualizing anatomy, especially in patients with limited mouth opening or neck mobility, and often require pre-bent stylets that may not be suitable, leading to difficulties in intubation and risks of injury or death due to inadequate airway access.
Innovation Solution
An articulatable endotracheal tube stylet device with a handle and articulation mechanism that can bend in real-time, allowing for user-controlled adjustments to achieve optimal airway access, featuring a bendable element and string mechanism for easy manipulation and reduced material in the mouth, accommodating various tube sizes and types.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If pre-bent stylets are used, then the stylet provides structural support for intubation, but the stylet cannot be adjusted to fit different patients with limited mouth opening or neck mobility
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies the dynamics principle by transforming the static pre-bent stylet into a dynamic, adjustable articulation mechanism. The stylet includes multiple articulation segments that can be bent and positioned in different configurations using a control wire system, allowing real-time adaptation to various patient anatomies while maintaining structural support during intubation procedures.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent applies segmentation by dividing the stylet into multiple articulation segments that can independently bend and rotate. This segmentation allows each segment to be controlled separately via individual control wires, enabling complex three-dimensional positioning to accommodate different mouth openings and neck mobilities without requiring a completely new device design.
2Ease of operation
If an articulatable mechanism is added to allow real-time bending adjustments, then the device can be precisely adjusted to fit different patients, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses control wires as intermediary elements that transmit the operator's manual manipulation forces to the articulation segments. These wires act as mediators between the simple external control interface and the complex internal articulation mechanism, allowing easy adjustment of multiple segments through a straightforward wire-pulling interface without requiring complex electronic or mechanical control systems.
Solution Approach 2:
The articulation mechanism is designed to be manually adjustable by the operator without requiring external power sources, motors, or automated control systems. The operator directly manipulates the control wires to bend and position the articulation segments as needed, making the complex mechanism simple to operate through direct manual control.
3Ease of operation
If the articulation mechanism extends outside the shaft aperture for control, then the bendable element can be easily manipulated, but more material remains in the patient's mouth during the procedure
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the articulation mechanism into controlled sections where only the necessary distal portions extend beyond the shaft aperture for manipulation. This allows the operator to control the bending of articulation segments with minimal exposure, reducing the amount of material in the patient's mouth while maintaining ease of adjustment for the critical bending portions.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
Enhances the safety and efficiency of endotracheal intubation by allowing precise adjustments to fit different patients, reducing the risk of injury and improving success rates on the first attempt, while being cost-efficient and adaptable for single or multi-use applications.
Implementation Method 1
the string is coupled to the handle and to a distal end of the bendable element, such that, upon the movement of the handle, the string is pulled to cause a bending of the bendable element
Data Source
AI summary
Disclosed are articulatable endotracheal tube stylet devices. systems and methods for endotracheal intubation and interrogation. In some aspects. an endotracheal tube stylet apparatus includes a housing: a handle comprising a lever arm that is coupled to the housing: a staple shaft that is coupled to the housing: and an articulation mechanism that extends from the housing through and out of an aperture of the staple shaft and operable to bend upon control by movement of the lever arm of the handle.