Elastic Traction Device for Endoscopic Tissue Closure
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing endoscopic treatment devices face difficulties in efficiently closing large tissue deficiencies or openings in the stomach wall due to the need for extensive thread manipulation and high effort required to gather surrounding tissues, especially when using clips, which can be slippery and generate significant reaction forces.
Innovation Solution
A tissue traction device with an elongated, elastically deformable main body and two fixing elements with needles and threads, allowing for easier tissue manipulation and closure by generating a restoring force to bring fixation sites closer, facilitating suturing and reducing the effort needed to close openings.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If a thread is hooked at two sites around a large opening to close the opening, then the opening can be closed, but the movement amount of the needle becomes large and the effort required becomes large
Solution Approach 1:
The main body is designed to be elastically deformable, allowing it to dynamically change shape from a relaxed state to a stretched state when threads are pulled. This elastic deformation enables the device to adapt to the closing process, reducing the needle movement amount and effort required compared to rigid structures
Solution Approach 2:
The device changes the physical state of the main body from relaxed to stretched through elastic deformation. This parameter change (from relaxed configuration to stretched configuration) allows the device to maintain tension on the threads while reducing the mechanical effort needed for closing
2Ease of operation
If clips are used to close the opening, then the opening can be closed, but the arm becomes slippery with respect to tissue and reaction force is generated requiring same or more effort
Solution Approach 1:
The elastically deformable main body acts as an intermediary between the rigid needle/thread system and the soft tissue. This flexible intermediary element allows for better tissue engagement without generating excessive reaction forces, as the elastic deformation absorbs some of the mechanical stress
3Ease of operation
If the area of the opening is large, then more sites are needed for hooking thread, but the device complexity increases and operation becomes more difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The device merges the functions of multiple threads and multiple hooking sites into a single integrated elastically deformable main body. By combining these elements, the device can handle large openings more efficiently, as the elastic deformation allows the threads to be pulled together from multiple attachment points simultaneously
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 elongates and stretches the opening, allowing for easier closure with reduced effort and improved precision, enhancing the efficiency of endoscopic procedures like EFTR and ESD by maintaining a stretched state against tissue reaction forces.
Implementation Method 1
an elongated main body connected to the first thread and extending between the first thread and the second thread, the main body being elastically deformable
Data Source
AI summary
A tissue traction device includes a first needle connected to a distal end of a first thread; a second needle connected to a distal end of a second thread; an elongated main body connected to the first thread and extending between the first thread and the second thread, the main body being elastically deformable; a tube disposed at a proximal end of the main body; and a traction member having a distal end connected to a distal end portion of the main body, the traction member extending from the distal end portion of the main body toward a distal end of the tube.