Disposable Wireless Guidewire for Sterile Medical Imaging
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing medical imaging technologies face challenges in providing a compact, sterilizable, and disposable solution for imaging and illumination of small target areas within the body, while maintaining the sterility of the imaging device and avoiding contamination.
Innovation Solution
A guidewire system equipped with imaging sources and light sources at its distal tip, which is compact enough to navigate through small body cavities and canals, and is designed to be fully wireless, battery-powered, and sterile, allowing for rapid implementation and disposal during medical procedures.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Volume of moving object
If a guidewire system with imaging sources and light sources is designed to be compact for navigating small body cavities, then the device size is reduced, but power supply and data transmission become more challenging
Solution Approach 1:
The guidewire system is designed as a single-use disposable device, eliminating the need for complex reusable power supply and data transmission infrastructure. The integrated battery-powered wireless imaging source is discarded after one use, simplifying the overall system design while maintaining compact size for navigating small body cavities
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces mechanical wired connections for power and data transmission with wireless technology. The imaging source communicates image data wirelessly to an external receiver, eliminating the need for physical cables extending into the sterile field and reducing the complexity of power and data transmission in the compact guidewire
2Reliability
If the guidewire system is designed for sterilization and disposal, then contamination risk is reduced, but the device must be fully self-contained with integrated power and transmission
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines the power source (battery), imaging source, light source, and wireless data transmission components into a single integrated guidewire assembly. This merging allows the entire system to be sterilized as one unit and disposed of after single use, maintaining sterility without requiring complex separate components
Solution Approach 2:
The guidewire system is designed to be fully self-contained with an integrated battery power source that provides power to the imaging and light sources without requiring external connections. The wireless transmission capability allows the device to operate independently in the sterile field, eliminating dependence on external power and data connections
3Object-affected harmful factors
If wireless transmission is implemented to avoid contamination, then sterility is maintained, but power delivery to the distal tip becomes more difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the system into a disposable wireless imaging source at the distal tip containing the battery and imaging components, and a separate external receiver. This segmentation allows the power-consumptive imaging components to be located at the distal tip where they are needed, while the battery power source is integrated into the disposable guidewire assembly, eliminating the need for power delivery through the guidewire structure
Data Source
AI summary
Some systems, devices and methods detailed herein can include a guidewire equipped with one or more imaging sources and light sources positioned at a distal tip of the guidewire to provide medical imaging and illumination of a targeted body location.