Endoscope Cleaning Accessory Elevator Platform Debris Removal
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current endoscope cleaning and disinfection processes are labor-intensive and time-consuming, often failing to ensure complete removal of tissue and debris from the elevator assembly before automatic reprocessing, leading to increased health risks and costs.
Innovation Solution
An endoscope cleaning accessory featuring a bulbous member filled with a cleaning composition and a blocking mechanism that, when applied with external pressure, drives the composition through the elevator platform to loosen and flush out particles, facilitating pre-AER cleaning and disinfection.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If manual mechanical manipulation of the elevator assembly is performed to clean tissue and debris, then cleaning effectiveness is improved, but labor intensity and time consumption increase
Solution Approach 1:
The cleaning composition is pre-loaded into the bulbous member before use. When the bulbous member is attached to the endoscope and pressure is applied, the pre-positioned cleaning composition is automatically driven through the elevator assembly, performing the cleaning action without requiring manual manipulation or preparation during the cleaning process itself.
Solution Approach 2:
A cleaning composition is introduced as an intermediary substance between the cleaning device and the elevator assembly. This composition facilitates the removal of tissue and debris by chemically or mechanically acting on the contaminants, enabling effective cleaning without direct mechanical manipulation of the elevator components.
2Reliability
If manual mechanical manipulation of the elevator assembly is performed to ensure complete removal of particles, then cleaning thoroughness is improved, but labor intensity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The cleaning system is designed to perform self-service cleaning of the elevator assembly. The cleaning composition, when driven through the elevator platform by pressure applied to the bulbous member, automatically cleans the internal mechanisms without requiring external manual manipulation or intervention to ensure thoroughness.
Solution Approach 2:
Pressure is applied to the bulbous member to drive the cleaning composition through the elevator assembly. This pneumatic/hydraulic action forces the cleaning solution through the internal mechanisms, achieving thorough cleaning without manual mechanical manipulation of the elevator components.
3Productivity
If the suction channel is blocked during cleaning, then cleaning composition delivery is improved, but fluid flow management becomes more complex
Solution Approach 1:
The blocking mechanism is designed as a separate, removable component that can be extracted from the bulbous member after use. This allows the blocking function to be temporarily introduced during cleaning to ensure proper delivery of cleaning composition, then removed afterward to restore normal fluid flow through the suction channel without permanent modification to the endoscope system.
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
This solution reduces labor and time required for endoscope cleaning, improving disinfection outcomes and reducing the risk of infection while maintaining low capital costs by effectively loosening and removing debris before automatic reprocessing.
Implementation Method 1
pressure applied to an external surface of the bulbous member drives the cleaning composition through elevator platform or forceps raiser within the distal end of the scope to loosen tissue and other particles
Data Source
AI summary
An endoscope cleansing accessory is described for use at the bedside, manual cleaning sink, or prior to decontamination of the endoscope with an automatic endoscope reprocessing (AER) apparatus. The cleansing accessory includes a cleansing pod or bulbous package filled with a cleaning composition, such as a foam, fluid or powder, and a blocking mechanism located at or near an opening of the cleansing pod. The blocking mechanism is configured to block a suction channel once the cleansing pod is tightly fitted over a distal end of the endoscope. External pressure applied to the outside of the cleansing pod in the form of repeated compression or squeezing drives the cleaning fluid through an elevator platform or forceps raiser bridge mechanism within the endoscope's distal end to loosen tissue and other particles, which can then be flushed out during manual cleaning or by the flowing cleansing fluid of an AER.