Catheter Distal Viewing Window with Graduations
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current medical catheters lack an effective means to visualize and accurately position target tissues during minimally invasive procedures, leading to increased procedure time and patient discomfort due to frequent movement of the catheter within the patient's lumen.
Innovation Solution
An elongated housing with a distal viewing window, covering at least 10% of its length, and graduations on both the viewing window and the proximal end, allowing for precise positioning and visualization of tissues without moving the catheter, coupled with a needle channel for ablation therapy, enables the user to move the cystoscope instead of the catheter, reducing movement and discomfort.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If a catheter is used to treat BPH without a viewing window, then the catheter structure remains simple, but the user cannot accurately identify and position the target tissue, leading to increased procedure time and patient discomfort
Solution Approach 1:
A cystoscope is introduced as an intermediary device through the scope channel to enable visualization of target tissue. The cystoscope transmits optical images through the transparent distal viewing window, allowing the user to identify and position the target tissue accurately without directly viewing through the catheter itself.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces direct mechanical visualization (looking through the catheter) with an optical system (cystoscope with light transmission). The transparent viewing window allows optical images from the cystoscope to be viewed externally, substituting mechanical direct observation with optical mediation.
2Area of stationary object
If the catheter is moved frequently to identify different tissue areas, then comprehensive tissue coverage is achieved, but patient pain and procedure time increase
Solution Approach 1:
The cystoscope is designed as a movable component that can slide axially within the scope channel while the catheter remains stationary. This dynamic element (cystoscope) provides variable viewing positions without requiring movement of the entire catheter assembly, allowing comprehensive tissue coverage while minimizing patient discomfort and procedure time.
Solution Approach 2:
The viewing function is separated from the treatment function. The cystoscope handles the visualization task independently by moving within the scope channel, while the catheter remains stationary for treatment delivery. This segmentation allows the viewing area to be expanded through cystoscope movement without requiring catheter relocation.
3Area of moving object
If the viewing window is made small to maintain a compact catheter, then the catheter remains maneuverable, but the user cannot view a substantial area of adjacent tissue without moving the catheter
Solution Approach 1:
The cystoscope serves as a dynamic viewing element that can move axially within the scope channel to access different tissue areas. This allows a relatively small viewing window on the catheter to provide access to a large effective viewing area through the movement of the cystoscope, maintaining catheter compactness while expanding functional viewing capability.
4Measurement precision
If the catheter is moved repeatedly to reposition for treatment, then accurate target positioning is achieved, but patient discomfort and procedure time increase
Solution Approach 1:
The cystoscope provides dynamic positioning capability within the stationary catheter. The user can slide the cystoscope axially to view and position different tissue areas, achieving accurate target positioning without moving the catheter itself. This maintains treatment precision while improving efficiency by eliminating repeated catheter repositioning.
Data Source
AI summary
The disclosure describes an elongated housing, e.g., a catheter, configured to be inserted into a lumen of a patient to diagnose or treat a patient. The elongated housing includes a scope channel that accepts a cystoscope and a viewing window at the distal end of the elongated housing. The user may use the cystoscope to view tissue adjacent to the viewing window. The viewing window may take up at least 10 percent of the length of the elongated housing to allow the user to identify a large area of tissue in the lumen without moving the elongated housing with respect to the tissue. Once the user identifies the target tissue, the user may position the elongated housing graduations on the viewing window and the proximal end of the elongated housing. An ablation needle electrode may be extended into the target tissue to deliver ablation therapy to the target tissue.