Endoscope Bending Section for 4-Way Deflection and Low Friction
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Solution Overview
Problem
Duodenoscopes face issues such as significant friction and force transmission loss due to sharp bends, difficulty in navigation due to side-facing cameras, limited accessory channels, and challenges in cleaning, leading to inefficiency and potential bacterial contamination.
Innovation Solution
An endoscope system with multiple accessory channels and a bending section that allows for 4-way deflection using control wires, enabling forward and side-viewing configurations, and a design that minimizes friction and enhances maneuverability.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If the distal end of the duodenoscope is bent sharply at 90 degree angles to access the papilla of Vater, then the ability to reach the target location is improved, but significant friction and force transmission loss occur
Solution Approach 1:
The bending section incorporates multiple control wires that can be dynamically adjusted to achieve the desired 90-degree bend at the distal end. The control wires allow the bending section to transition from a straight configuration to a bent configuration, enabling the scope to reach the papilla of Vater while maintaining controlled force transmission through the flexible but structurally supportive wire mechanism.
Solution Approach 2:
The duodenoscope is divided into distinct sections including a bending section with control wires, a distal end section, and an elongate tube. This segmentation allows the bending section to independently achieve the necessary 90-degree angle while the rest of the scope remains relatively stable, isolating the friction and force loss to a specific segment rather than the entire device.
2Device complexity
If a side-facing camera system is used in the duodenoscope, then the camera can be positioned at the distal end, but navigation through the GI tract becomes difficult for physicians
Solution Approach 1:
The bending section and distal end section are designed with asymmetric geometries that enable specific directional bending capabilities. The distal end section has a shape that complements the bending section, allowing the camera to maintain an optimal viewing angle relative to the scope's orientation while the asymmetric structure facilitates intuitive manipulation by the physician during navigation.
3Device complexity
If only one accessory channel is provided in the duodenoscope, then the device structure remains simple, but multiple accessories become time intensive and cumbersome to use
Solution Approach 1:
The bending section is designed to accommodate multiple accessory channels while maintaining a unified structural framework. This multi-functional design allows different accessories to be simultaneously or sequentially introduced through separate channels, all controlled by the same bending mechanism, thereby improving procedural efficiency without proportionally increasing overall device complexity.
4Ease of operation
If the distal end section is bent at sharp angles to access the papilla of Vater, then the ability to cannulate the duodenum is improved, but the accessory channels cannot bend outwards to switch between forward-viewing and side-viewing perspectives
Solution Approach 1:
The accessory channels are designed with the capability to bend in multiple dimensions - they can bend outward perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the scope in addition to following the longitudinal bend. This multi-dimensional bending capability allows the channels to maintain access to the papilla of Vater through longitudinal bending while simultaneously enabling the distal end section to rotate or pivot for switching between forward-viewing and side-viewing camera perspectives.
Data Source
AI summary
Endoscope systems with bending sections that can bend in four directions independent of the rotatable viewing configuration of the endoscope systems are provided. Embodiments include continuous and uncontinuous ribs that provide for at least one accessory channel structure to be movable laterally into and out of a longitudinal interior cavity circumferentially defined by the ribs. Methods of using the endoscope systems in a patient's body are further provided.