Endoscopic Guide Tube with Multiple Exit Points
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional endoscopic systems face limitations in repositioning instruments without altering the optics' position, which can obscure the target site view and require retracting the guide tube, making it difficult to access different target areas during endoscopic procedures.
Innovation Solution
The system employs an elongate guide tube with multiple channels and exit points, allowing instruments to be redirected within the guide tube without retracting it, using interconnecting passages and rotational mechanisms to change instrument positions relative to the target site while maintaining optical alignment.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If the guide tube is retracted to reposition instruments, then the instrument can be accessed from different positions, but the optical view is compromised and procedural time increases
Solution Approach 1:
The guide tube is divided into multiple segments that can be independently positioned. The distal segment can be repositioned relative to the proximal segment through articulation mechanisms, allowing instrument repositioning without retracting the entire guide tube, thus maintaining optical view while enabling different instrument positions
Solution Approach 2:
The guide tube incorporates dynamic articulation mechanisms that allow the distal segment to rotate and position instruments at various angles. This dynamic positioning capability enables instrument repositioning while maintaining the guide tube's overall position in the target site, preventing time loss from complete retraction
2Adaptability or versatility
If multiple exit points are provided at the distal end, then instrument accessibility to different target areas is improved, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The guide tube is segmented into multiple independent channels, each leading to a separate exit point at the distal end. This segmentation allows instruments to be delivered to different target areas simultaneously or independently, providing versatility while keeping each individual channel relatively simple in structure
Solution Approach 2:
Multiple exit points are provided at the distal end of the guide tube, each capable of receiving different instruments for various surgical tasks. This multi-functional design allows a single guide tube system to access multiple target areas and perform diverse procedures, improving adaptability without requiring multiple separate devices
Data Source
AI summary
Described herein are various systems and methods for directing endoscopy instruments to varying positions at a target site. In one aspect, at least one instrument channel has multiple exit points at the distal end of the guide tube, and the position of an instrument delivered through the channel may be switched between the different exit points. In another aspect, an instrument channel splits into multiple branches at the distal end of the guide tube, and the position of an instrument at the target site may be changed by selectively directing the instrument into a different channel branch. In yet another aspect, the guide tube, or a portion thereof, may be rotated to reposition an instrument at the target site. The capability of changing the instrument positions during a procedure would enable a physician to examine or treat multiple target sites within an operative field, without necessitating the full retraction of the instruments or the guide tube from the operative field.