Catheter Positioning with Nerve Stimulator Needle
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Current regional anesthesia techniques face challenges in accurately placing catheters for continuous infusion due to issues with large gauge needles causing trauma, flexibility of catheters leading to instability, and fluid leakage, which limits the effectiveness of continuous anesthesia or analgesia administration.
Innovation Solution
A system featuring a thin catheter with a 27-gauge nerve stimulator needle and a microelectrode tip, where a releasable clamp maintains the catheter and needle's axial position, allowing precise placement and reducing trauma, while minimizing fluid leakage by using a tapered catheter surface and multiple clamps for stability.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If a large gauge needle (17 or 18 gauge) is used to pass the catheter through, then the catheter can be inserted, but patient trauma and pain increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the gauge parameter of the needle from traditional large gauge (17-18) to a smaller gauge (27), thereby reducing patient trauma and pain while still enabling catheter passage through the use of a flexible introducing catheter
2Ease of operation
If a flexible catheter is used, then insertion is easier, but the final position of the distal end cannot be accurately determined
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses a flexible introducing catheter as an intermediary device that temporarily provides structural support during insertion, enabling accurate positioning of the distal end while still allowing the final catheter to remain flexible for comfort
3Stability of the object's composition
If the catheter is made stiffer to maintain stability, then positioning control improves, but the catheter becomes more traumatic to insert
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies dynamic properties by using a flexible introducing catheter that provides temporary rigidity during insertion and positioning, then transitions to a softer final catheter configuration that reduces trauma while maintaining adequate stability through the introducing catheter's support
4Device complexity
If a single clamp is used to fix the catheter to the needle, then the system is simpler, but control and stability during advancement are reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The patent divides the clamping system into multiple segments (first clamp and second clamp) positioned at different locations along the catheter-needle assembly, with each clamp providing independent stabilization at critical points during the insertion and positioning process
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
This system simplifies and enhances the accuracy of catheter placement, reduces patient trauma, and prevents fluid leakage, facilitating efficient continuous regional anesthesia administration with improved control and reduced costs.
Implementation Method 1
the phenomenon that an electrical pulse is capable of stimulating a motor nerve fiber to contract an innervated muscle or cause paraesthesia, in the case of sensory nerve stimulation
Data Source
Figure 1~3
Figure 4~5
Figure 6~7
AI summary
A system for positioning a catheter includes a nerve stimulator needle carried within the lumen of the catheter. A microelectrode is configured as a needle tip precisely protruding beyond a tapered distal end of the catheter. The catheter and needle are fixed against axial movement relative to one another to maintain the precise configuration of the microelectrode needle tip conductive surface by a releasable clamp which is grasped by the practitioner to compress the catheter lumen against the needle without permanent deformation of the needle shaft while simultaneously advancing the needle and the catheter toward a target nerve.