Dual-Chamber Endoscopic Sheath for Complete Agent Delivery
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing agent delivery devices during endoscopic procedures often retain a portion of the agent within the working channel, leading to incomplete delivery and waste, as the agent is introduced at the proximal end and not fully administered to the procedure site.
Innovation Solution
A medical device with a flexible sheath containing multiple chambers and pistons, allowing for the precise control and mixing of agents, ensuring complete delivery by actuating the pistons to release the agents through a distal opening, minimizing waste.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Device complexity
If the agent is introduced at the proximal end of the device, then the device structure is simple, but the agent is retained within portions of the device and not fully delivered to the procedure site
Solution Approach 1:
The delivery device is segmented into multiple functional zones: a proximal chamber for agent loading, a distal chamber for agent delivery, and intermediate transfer mechanisms. This segmentation allows the agent to be systematically transported through defined pathways, ensuring complete delivery while maintaining manageable device complexity through modular design
Solution Approach 2:
A piston or plunger mechanism acts as an intermediary element between the proximal agent reservoir and the distal delivery site. This intermediary component actively propels the agent through the working channel, preventing retention and ensuring complete transfer from the proximal end to the procedure site
2Measurement precision
If multiple agents are delivered separately, then the delivery control is precise, but the mixing and homogeneity at the procedure site is insufficient
Solution Approach 1:
Multiple separate agent chambers are merged into a common distal delivery chamber where the agents mix before being delivered to the procedure site. This merging ensures that while each agent can be precisely controlled and delivered separately through individual pistons, they ultimately combine in the correct proportions at the target location, achieving both precision and homogeneity
Solution Approach 2:
The device employs a nested chamber configuration where inner chambers containing individual agents are positioned within or alongside outer chambers. This nesting arrangement allows for precise independent control of each agent while facilitating their convergence and mixing in the distal portion, ensuring both delivery precision and compositional homogeneity
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 device effectively delivers all or nearly all of the agent to the procedure site, reducing waste and ensuring efficient administration of multi-component agents by mixing and dispensing them accurately.
Implementation Method 1
The sheath also includes at least one actuation element configured to transmit a force from the handle to each of the first piston and the second piston
Implementation Method 2
When the handle is in a second configuration, the second agent is released from the second chamber to mix with the first agent
Data Source
Figure 1~2B
Figure 3A~3B
Figure 4A~4B
AI summary
A medical device may comprise a handle and a flexible sheath extending from the handle. The sheath may include a first chamber configured to receive a first agent and a second chamber configured to receive a second agent. Each of the first chamber and the second chamber may be disposed in a distal portion of the sheath. The sheath may also include a first piston received within the first chamber and a second piston received within the second chamber and at least one actuation element configured to transmit a force from the handle to each of the first piston and the second piston. When the handle is in a first configuration, the first agent may be maintained within the first chamber and the second agent is maintained within the second chamber. When the handle is in a second configuration, the first agent may be released from the first chamber to mix with the second agent.