Endoscopic Biopsy Device with Segmented Sampling Chambers
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current endoscopic biopsy instruments face challenges in efficiently collecting multiple tissue samples without removing the device from the body, particularly in narrow instrument channels, and in maintaining reliable remote operation within tortuous paths, which limits the number of samples that can be taken and complicates precise location mapping.
Innovation Solution
An endoscopic biopsy device with a tubular body, moveable jaws, a collecting chamber, and a displaceable collecting member, along with retaining elements that separate and recombine sampling and collecting chambers, allows for the secure collection and storage of multiple tissue samples without removing the device, facilitating remote operation and precise sample management.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If the biopsy instrument remains inserted in the instrument channel to collect multiple tissue samples, then the number of samples collected increases and procedure time is reduced, but it becomes difficult to precisely control and map the exact location of each tissue sample
Solution Approach 1:
The device segments the collection process by providing individual sampling chambers (first, second, third sampling chambers) that can be independently activated and positioned. Each chamber can be selectively advanced to capture samples at specific locations, allowing multiple samples to be collected while maintaining precise location control through independent chamber operation.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces a location mapping system that acts as an intermediary between the sampling mechanism and the operator. This system tracks and records the position of each sampling chamber, providing spatial information about where each tissue sample was collected, thereby resolving the location mapping precision issue.
2Ease of operation
If the instrument channel is made narrow (2-4 mm or 1-2 mm in ultrathin endoscopes) to improve patient comfort and access, then ease of operation improves, but device complexity increases to achieve reliable remote operation through tortuous paths
Solution Approach 1:
The device employs dynamic, flexible shafts that can bend and flex to navigate tortuous paths through the instrument channel. The sampling chambers are designed to be selectively advanceable along this flexible shaft, allowing the distal end to reach various locations while the proximal end remains accessible for operation. This dynamic design enables reliable remote operation through narrow, curved paths without excessive complexity.
3Productivity
If a needle-shaped retractor is used to accumulate multiple tissue samples, then the number of samples collected increases, but previously collected samples press against new samples affecting reliability of pick-up
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of using a single accumulator where samples press against each other, the patent segments the collection into multiple independent sampling chambers. Each chamber captures samples separately, and the samples are held in their respective chambers without being compressed by other samples. This eliminates the pressing effect while maintaining the ability to collect multiple samples.
Solution Approach 2:
The sampling chambers are nested within the tubular body of the device, with each chamber able to advance independently. The samples are collected in a nested arrangement where each sample resides in its own chamber space, preventing compression from other samples while allowing compact integration within the device structure.
Data Source
Figure 1~2
Figure 3(i)~3(iv)
Figure 4(i)~4(iv)
AI summary
The present invention relates in one aspect to an endoscopic biopsy device (1, 2) for collecting multiple samples (10x). The endoscopic biopsy device comprises a tubular body (10) having in an axial direction a distal end and a proximal end, jaws (20, 21, 22) that are hinged to the distal end of the body, wherein the jaws are operable between an OPEN position and a CLOSED position to secure a tissue sample (100), and wherein the jaws in the CLOSED position define a sampling chamber (23); a collecting chamber (13) for receiving multiple samples, the collecting chamber being located within the body in an axial direction proximally adjacent to the sampling chamber; and an axially extending collecting member (30) for transfixing secured samples, the collecting member being axially displaceable between a retracted position in the collecting chamber and a deployed position where the collecting member penetrates into the sampling chamber. The jaws comprise retaining elements (40, 41, 42) arranged to project radially inward on a proximal portion of the jaws. The retaining elements engage when the jaws are in the CLOSED position, thereby separating the sampling chamber and the collecting chamber from each other. The retaining elements disengage when the jaws are in the OPEN position, thereby providing a passage for the transfer of transfixed samples into and out of the collecting chamber.