Drainage Actuation Device With Segmented Flow Control
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current drainage systems for managing pleural and ascites effusions, such as PleurX and PeritX, rely on pre-evacuated containers for negative pressure but may not efficiently manage fluid drainage due to limitations in fluid flow control and patient convenience.
Innovation Solution
A drainage system with a fluid-receiving body and an actuation device that includes a housing with a container-receiving chamber for a pre-evacuated container, featuring an actuation member that reduces the distance between the container seal and a piercing element to establish negative pressure communication with a fluid-receiving passageway, allowing for efficient bodily fluid drainage and bypassing the container, with optional flow control mechanisms for patient comfort.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If a pre-evacuated container is used to provide negative pressure for drainage, then fluid drainage is enabled, but the system lacks manual flow control capability
Solution Approach 1:
The system divides the drainage pathway into separate segments: a first drainage tube for initial fluid removal and a second drainage tube for controlled drainage. This segmentation allows different drainage modes to coexist within the same system, providing both automatic negative pressure drainage and manual flow control without requiring completely separate devices.
Solution Approach 2:
The system incorporates a flow control valve that can dynamically adjust the opening size of the second drainage tube. This dynamic adjustment mechanism allows the system to transition between different drainage states (open/closed, high/low flow) providing manual flow control capability while maintaining a relatively simple overall structure.
2Ease of operation
If the catheter remains outside the body hidden under a bandage, then patient comfort is improved, but the drainage system cannot provide continuous monitoring or adjustment
Solution Approach 1:
The drainage system is segmented into an internal drainage pathway (catheter inside body cavity) and an external control interface (actuation device outside body). This segmentation allows the catheter to remain internally positioned for continuous drainage while the actuation device provides external monitoring and control capabilities, resolving the contradiction between patient comfort and continuous monitoring.
3Productivity
If the piercing element continuously pierces the seal to maintain negative pressure, then drainage efficiency is improved, but the seal wears out faster
Solution Approach 1:
The seal is pre-positioned in a retracted state within the housing, away from the piercing element. The piercing element only makes contact with the seal when actuation is required to initiate drainage. This preliminary positioning of the seal in a protected state reduces wear from continuous contact while maintaining the ability to quickly establish negative pressure when needed.
Solution Approach 2:
Instead of continuous contact, the piercing element interacts with the seal in periodic intervals - making contact only when actuation is required and retracting otherwise. This periodic interaction pattern maintains drainage efficiency when needed while significantly reducing cumulative wear on the seal, extending its operational lifespan.
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
The system effectively initiates and maintains fluid drainage through a siphon effect, providing improved fluid management and patient convenience by allowing manual control of flow rates, enhancing the efficiency and comfort of pleural and peritoneal drainage operations.
Implementation Method 1
providing communication of a negative pressure inside the pre-evacuated container to a fluid-receiving passageway to draw bodily fluid into the fluid-receiving passageway and toward the fluid-receiving body
Implementation Method 2
The system effectively initiates and maintains fluid drainage through a siphon effect
Data Source
AI summary
A drainage system for draining bodily fluid includes a fluid-receiving body having a fluid-receiving chamber located therein that receives a bodily fluid through an inlet. An actuation device includes a housing with a container-receiving chamber that is sized and configured to receive a pre-evacuated container therein. The actuation device includes an actuation member that, upon actuation, moves either the pre-evacuated container or a piercing element toward the other of the pre-evacuated container or piercing element such that the piercing element pierces a seal of the pre-evacuated container providing communication of a negative pressure inside the pre-evacuated container to a fluid-receiving passageway to draw bodily fluid into the fluid-receiving passageway and toward the fluid-receiving body.