Digital Rectosigmoidoscope With Disposable Shaft for Lower-Colon Screening
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current bowel cancer screening methods, such as flexible and rigid sigmoidoscopy, are invasive, costly, and inefficient, leading to over-referral for colonoscopy and straining healthcare resources, while colonoscopy is expensive and uncomfortable, limiting early detection and increasing demand.
Innovation Solution
A digitally enhanced rigid sigmoidoscope with a disposable shaft and reusable handle, featuring a detachable lumened manifold, integrated pressurized gas supply, and one-handed operation, allowing for comfortable, efficient examination and treatment of the lower colon.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If flexible sigmoidoscopy is used for bowel cancer screening, then screening can be performed, but the procedure is invasive, costly, and inefficient leading to over-referral for colonoscopy
Solution Approach 1:
The rigid sigmoidoscope is divided into separate functional modules: a disposable shaft portion for insertion and examination, and a reusable handle portion for operation. This segmentation allows the complex procedure to be broken down into simple, single-use components that can be easily disposed of after use, reducing the complexity and cost of the overall system while maintaining screening effectiveness.
Solution Approach 2:
The shaft portion of the sigmoidoscope is designed as a disposable, single-use component that is discarded after the examination. This eliminates the need for expensive cleaning, sterilization, and maintenance of the entire device, significantly reducing costs and improving productivity by allowing rapid sequential examinations without complex processing requirements.
2Measurement precision
If colonoscopy is performed for early detection, then diagnostic accuracy is improved, but the procedure is expensive and uncomfortable limiting early detection
Solution Approach 1:
The uncomfortable and expensive aspects of colonoscopy (full colon examination, complex equipment, lengthy procedure) are extracted and replaced with a focused rigid sigmoidoscope examination that targets only the distal colon and rectum. This provides sufficient diagnostic accuracy for detecting early-stage cancers in the most critical areas while significantly improving patient comfort and reducing procedure time and cost.
Solution Approach 2:
Instead of performing a complete colonoscopy that examines the entire colon, the rigid sigmoidoscope provides a focused examination of the distal 25cm (rectum and sigmoid colon), which is where the highest proportion of colorectal cancers occur. This partial examination achieves adequate diagnostic accuracy for early detection while being less invasive, faster, and more comfortable for patients.
3Productivity
If rigid sigmoidoscopy is used, then examination can be performed, but the procedure is invasive and straining healthcare resources
Solution Approach 1:
The disposable shaft portion eliminates the need for complex cleaning and sterilization processes that would otherwise be required for reusable instruments. This allows for rapid sequential examinations with minimal preparation time, significantly improving throughput and productivity while maintaining the necessary sterile field requirements through single-use packaging and disposal.
Solution Approach 2:
By separating the shaft and handle into distinct disposable and reusable components, the system maintains the invasiveness necessary for effective examination while minimizing the harmful effects through easy disposal of the contaminated shaft portion. This segmentation allows the reusable handle to be sterilized between uses while the shaft is discarded, reducing the overall invasive impact on patients and streamlining the examination process.
Data Source
AI summary
A portable digital rectosigmoidoscope single-handed, digital intestinal endoscope, used by suitably trained healthcare workers to digitally view the anus, rectum and distal sigmoid colon in people with anorectal symptoms at point of care.