Two-Piece Cranial Bolt with Diverging Lumens
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing cranial bolts for medical procedures can only accommodate a single sensor or catheter, requiring multiple holes in the skull and causing undue stress or inaccurate readings due to intersecting instruments.
Innovation Solution
A two-piece cranial bolt with a self-tapping threaded portion and a lumen portion that allows multiple passageways to diverge, reducing the need for additional drilling and minimizing stress on the skull, while enabling flexible placement of sensors and drainage catheters through a fluid-tight seal and adjustable configuration.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If a single opening is used in the skull, then the structure is simple and stress is minimized, but only one probe or catheter can pass through
Solution Approach 1:
The bolt is divided into two separate pieces: a first piece with a threaded portion for skull engagement and a second piece with a lumen portion for instrument passage. This segmentation allows the bolt to accommodate multiple lumens in the second piece while keeping the first piece simple for skull insertion, resolving the contradiction between versatility and structural complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The lumen portion is inserted into and engages with the threaded portion, creating a nested structure. The lumen portion contains multiple lumens that diverge toward different brain areas, allowing multiple instruments to pass through a single skull opening while maintaining a relatively simple overall structure.
2Adaptability or versatility
If multiple holes are drilled in the skull, then multiple probes and catheters can be inserted, but undue stress is applied to the skull
Solution Approach 1:
Multiple instrument passageways are merged into a single skull opening through the two-piece bolt design. The first piece creates one opening in the skull, and the second piece with multiple lumens is inserted through this single opening, allowing multiple instruments to pass through without requiring multiple separate holes, thus reducing stress on the skull.
3Adaptability or versatility
If multiple instruments pass through the same opening, then versatility is improved, but the instruments intersect and cause trauma
Solution Approach 1:
The lumens in the lumen portion are designed to diverge asymmetrically toward different areas of the brain rather than converging at a single point. This asymmetric divergence allows multiple instruments to pass through the same skull opening while their distal ends are positioned at separate locations in the brain, preventing intersection and the associated trauma that would compromise measurement precision.
Data Source
AI summary
A cranial bolt secured to a skull of a patient includes a threaded portion and a lumen portion. Threaded portion has an inner surface forming a central passageway which extends throughout the threaded portion. The inner surface includes a connector mating with the lumen portion. The threaded portion has an outer surface having a plurality of threads for engaging a hole formed in the patient's skull. The lumen portion includes a stem portion that enters the central passageway and engages the mating connector. A fluid tight seal is formed between the inner surface of the threaded portion and the stem portion. At least two lumens are disposed through the stem portion and the base portion. The lumens have a proximal end opening outside the skull and a distal end opening inside the skull. One embodiment includes sensor lumens diverging from the centerline and another allows lumen portion to rotate independent of threaded portion.