Endoscope Attachment Flow Control for Disinfection
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Endoscopes with complex distal end configurations, such as side-viewing endoscopes, face challenges in effective cleaning and disinfection due to irregularities like observation windows, illumination windows, and channel openings, which require careful removal of covers for thorough disinfection, and existing cleaning tools may suffer from chemical deterioration during the process.
Innovation Solution
A detachable endoscope attachment featuring a cylindrical member with a flow rate varying mechanism, comprising a main body cylinder and a slide cylinder, which adjusts the exposure of opening windows to control the flow of medicinal solutions and protect adhesive bonding portions from chemical damage during disinfection.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the cover is removed from the distal end rigid member for thorough disinfection, then the cleaning effectiveness is improved, but the bonding portion is exposed to chemical attack and deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a protective cover as an intermediary element between the medicinal solution and the bonding portion. This cover allows the distal end rigid member to be disassembled for disinfection while protecting the bonding portion from direct chemical attack, thus resolving the contradiction between disinfection effectiveness and bonding portion protection
Solution Approach 2:
The protective cover is designed to provide selective protection - it covers the bonding portion to protect it from chemical attack while leaving other areas (like the distal end rigid member surfaces) exposed for thorough disinfection. This local differentiation of protection levels resolves the contradiction by applying protection only where needed
2Duration of action of stationary object
If the bonding portion is protected from medicinal solution, then chemical deterioration is prevented, but cleaning effectiveness may be reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The protective cover acts as a mediator that enables both goals to coexist - it protects the bonding portion from chemical deterioration while allowing the rest of the distal end rigid member to be thoroughly cleaned and disinfected, thus resolving the contradiction between durability and cleaning effectiveness
Solution Approach 2:
The protective cover is designed as a segmented structure with specific openings and coverage areas. It segments the protection function by covering only the bonding portion while leaving other areas exposed, allowing differential treatment of different regions to resolve the contradiction
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 attachment ensures thorough cleaning and disinfection of endoscope components while minimizing chemical exposure to sensitive bonding areas, maintaining their integrity and extending the endoscope's lifespan by adjusting flow rates based on the chemical properties of the disinfectant solutions used.
Implementation Method 1
a flow rate varying member that is disposed in the cylindrical member and varies a flow rate of a medicinal solution that enters from an outside of the cylindrical member to an inside of the cylindrical member
Data Source
AI summary
An endoscope attachment is an endoscope attachment that is detachably attachable to a distal end portion part of an insertion portion of an endoscope, and includes a cylindrical member that covers a bonding portion that is arranged in a bending portion of the insertion portion and formed of adhesive, and a flow rate varying member that is disposed in the cylindrical member and varies a flow rate of a medicinal solution that enters from an outside of the cylindrical member to an inside of the cylindrical member.