Endoscopic Celiac Plexus Block for Chronic Pain
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current treatments for chronic pain associated with hepatobiliary diseases, pancreatic conditions, and reproductive organ issues are often ineffective and come with undesirable side effects, and existing methods like celiac plexus blocks have limited efficacy and pose risks due to imprecision and complications.
Innovation Solution
The technology involves neuromodulation of nerve structures associated with abdominal viscera and reproductive organs using electrically-induced, thermally-induced, or chemically-induced methods to reduce pain by modulating sympathetic nerves, targeting areas like the celiac plexus, superior mesenteric plexus, and sympathetic nerves innervating reproductive organs.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If conventional celiac plexus block is used to treat chronic pain, then pain relief is achieved in some cases, but the procedure has serious potential complications including retroperitoneal hemorrhage, spinal-cord puncture, and paraplegia
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses an endoscope as an intermediary device to visualize the celiac plexus and guide needle placement, replacing the blind percutaneous approach. The endoscope provides direct visual confirmation of the target area, allowing precise needle insertion while avoiding critical structures, thus maintaining pain relief effectiveness while eliminating serious complications
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces the mechanical blind needle insertion method with a visually-guided system using endoscopic imaging. The endoscope allows real-time visualization of anatomical structures, replacing the reliance on anatomical landmarks and blind needle advancement, thereby enabling precise targeting without the harmful side effects of improper needle placement
2Duration of action of stationary object
If celiac plexus block is repeated every three to four months for sustained pain management, then pain control is maintained, but treatment frequency and patient burden increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent performs preliminary visualization and mapping of the celiac plexus structures using endoscopy before needle insertion. This preliminary action ensures precise and complete coverage of the plexus during the procedure, creating a more durable effect that reduces the frequency of repeat treatments needed for sustained pain management
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the approach from blind needle insertion to visually-guided insertion, which allows for more precise delivery of the blocking agent. This parameter change in the delivery method results in more effective and longer-lasting pain control, reducing the treatment frequency from every three to four months to less frequent intervals
3Reliability
If analgesics and narcotics are used to manage chronic pain, then pain relief is provided, but undesirable side effects and dependency occur
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the patient from the chronic medication regimen by providing a one-time procedural intervention that directly addresses the pain source. By using endoscopic visualization to deliver a celiac plexus block, the treatment removes the need for ongoing narcotic use, eliminating the harmful side effects and dependency associated with long-term analgesic therapy
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 approach effectively reduces chronic pain by disrupting pain signal transmission, offering a potentially long-term solution with fewer side effects and complications compared to traditional treatments, improving quality of life and reducing medication reliance.
Implementation Method 1
neuromodulation of nerve structures associated with abdominal viscera and reproductive organs using electrically-induced, thermally-induced, or chemically-induced methods
Implementation Method 2
neuromodulation of nerve structures associated with abdominal viscera and reproductive organs using electrically-induced, thermally-induced, or chemically-induced methods
Data Source
AI summary
Methods for treating and managing pain in a patient with therapeutic neuromodulation and associated systems and methods are disclosed herein. Chronic or debilitating pain can be associated, for example, with a disease or condition of the abdominal or reproductive viscera. One aspect of the present technology is directed to methods that at least partially inhibit sympathetic neural activity in nerves proximate a target blood vessel of a diseased or damaged organ of a patient experiencing pain. Targeted sympathetic nerve activity can be modulated at least along afferent pathways which can improve a measurable parameter associated with the pain of the patient The modulation can be achieved, for example, using an intravascularly positioned catheter carrying a therapeutic assembly, e.g., a therapeutic assembly configured to use electrically-induced, thermally-induced, and/or chemically-induced approaches to modulate the target sympathetic nerve.