Autonomous Smart Medical Device Navigation with Real-Time Anatomic Mapping
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional medical devices face challenges in minimally invasive procedures due to operator dependence, limited maneuverability, and susceptibility to iatrogenic complications, particularly in navigating complex vascular structures and maintaining precise positioning, which can lead to suboptimal outcomes and increased risks.
Innovation Solution
Development of autonomous smart medical devices equipped with embedded signal emitters and receivers for real-time tracking, sensors, and AI-driven navigation systems that create dynamic anatomic visualization maps, enabling self-navigation and continuous feedback for precise positioning and adaptive functionality within the body.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If conventional medical devices are manually inserted and navigated under operator control, then the device can be positioned based on operator skill and experience, but the process is operator-dependent and susceptible to iatrogenic complications
Solution Approach 1:
The medical device autonomously navigates and positions itself within the body using embedded sensors, processors, and actuators that enable self-direction without continuous operator intervention. The device independently detects anatomical structures, plans navigation paths, and executes positioning maneuvers, eliminating operator dependence while maintaining high positioning reliability through automated feedback control systems.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces manual mechanical manipulation by operators with automated electronic control systems. Embedded processors, sensors, and communication modules substitute for human hands and eyes, enabling the device to autonomously sense the environment, process anatomical data, and adjust its position through electronic actuation rather than manual manipulation.
2Object-affected harmful factors
If minimally invasive device placement is used, then patient morbidity and recovery time are reduced, but the procedure is limited by operator skill, patient anatomy, and technology constraints
Solution Approach 1:
The medical device incorporates dynamic adaptability through real-time sensor feedback and automated navigation algorithms that adjust to varying patient anatomies. The system dynamically modifies navigation paths, positioning strategies, and operational parameters based on actual anatomical conditions encountered during the procedure, enabling successful minimally invasive placement across diverse patient populations without being constrained by fixed procedural protocols.
Solution Approach 2:
The device changes operational parameters such as navigation speed, positioning precision, and actuation forces based on real-time anatomical feedback. The system adjusts these parameters dynamically to optimize performance for different patient anatomies and procedural conditions, maintaining high adaptability while preserving the benefits of minimally invasive access.
3Ease of operation
If catheter flexibility is increased to improve navigation through curved vessels, then the catheter can bend to accommodate vascular curvature, but pushability and structural stability are reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The catheter is divided into multiple segmented sections with varying degrees of flexibility and structural support. Each segment can independently adjust its rigidity, allowing the distal portions to flex for navigation through curved vessels while proximal portions maintain structural integrity for pushability. The segmented design enables localized adaptation to vascular geometry without compromising overall catheter strength.
Solution Approach 2:
Different portions of the catheter possess different mechanical properties tailored to their specific functions. The distal navigation tip is highly flexible to navigate curved vessels, while the proximal shaft maintains higher rigidity for stable pushing and control. This local differentiation of mechanical properties allows the catheter to simultaneously achieve both navigation flexibility and pushability without compromise.
4Force
If catheter shaft diameter and wall thickness are increased to improve pushability, then sufficient push force can be exerted, but navigation flexibility and ability to bend are reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The catheter shaft is constructed from composite materials that combine high strength-to-weight ratio properties. These composite structures provide sufficient push force through enhanced structural rigidity while maintaining flexibility through the inherent properties of the composite materials. The composite construction allows the catheter to exert adequate push force without requiring increased diameter or wall thickness that would compromise navigation flexibility.
Data Source
AI summary
The present invention relates to autonomous medical devices, which are capable of self-navigation with real-time adjustment for changing anatomy and pathology. The autonomous medical devices include embedded signal emitters and/or receivers, which perform real-time tracking, and which create real-time anatomic visualization maps for the purposes of monitoring smart device activity and location in vivo, to ensure proper localization of the devices in question, and augment guidance technologies contained within the medical devices. The data derived from the smart medical device technologies can be automatically recorded, stored, and analyzed for the purpose of determining best practices, and the creation of machine learning and artificial intelligence algorithms. The autonomous smart medical devices can be applied to a wide variety of medical applications and work in combination with one another in the performance of complex medical tasks to create independent medical technology which can rapidly adapt, iteratively learn, and synergistically function in vivo.