Endoscopic Probe Deployment Device for Lesion Detection
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current endoscopic methods fail to identify all abnormal lesions in tubular organs, such as the colon, leading to missed pre-cancerous lesions and prolonged, costly procedures, with existing optical biopsy techniques being complex and expensive, and spectroscopic methods lacking the necessary magnification for comprehensive imaging.
Innovation Solution
An apparatus is developed that can move along an endoscope to deploy probes radially, allowing for simultaneous diagnosis and therapy, using a drive arrangement to position the probe accurately within the tubular lumen, facilitating improved lesion detection and treatment without requiring movement of the endoscope or use of instrument channels.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If conventional endoscopes are used to identify lesions, then the procedure is simple and equipment is basic, but up to 22% of pre-cancerous lesions are missed
Solution Approach 1:
The probe deployment device is nested within the endoscope, with the drive arrangement and probe housing integrated into the endoscope structure. The device can be inserted through the endoscope's instrument channel or alongside it, allowing the endoscope to serve as both a guide member and part of the deployment mechanism, thereby reducing overall system complexity while improving detection accuracy.
Solution Approach 2:
A deployable probe acts as an intermediary between the endoscope and the tissue. The probe carries spectroscopic sensors that interface directly with the tissue surface, enabling high-resolution spectral analysis without requiring the endoscope itself to be modified into a complex imaging system.
2Reliability
If optical biopsy techniques (CLE or multi-photon microscopy) are used, then histopathological diagnosis can be performed without physical biopsies, but equipment complexity and cost increase significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts only the essential spectroscopic sensing function from complex optical biopsy systems. By using diffuse reflectance spectroscopy with simple fiber-optic probes rather than full confocal laser endomicroscopy or multi-photon microscopy systems, the invention achieves sufficient diagnostic accuracy for lesion identification while dramatically reducing equipment complexity and cost.
Solution Approach 2:
The probe deployment device uses disposable probes that can be easily replaced between procedures. This eliminates the need for expensive, complex optical biopsy equipment while maintaining diagnostic capability, as each probe is used once and then discarded, reducing sterilization and maintenance costs.
3Ease of manufacture
If single point probes are used for spectroscopic imaging, then hardware is cheap and simple, but two-dimensional imaging capability is limited
Solution Approach 1:
The probe is designed to scan across the tissue surface in two dimensions while maintaining spectral measurement capability. The drive arrangement moves the probe laterally across the tissue, and by combining positional information with spectral data at each point, the system generates two-dimensional spectral maps that preserve both hardware simplicity and imaging capability.
Solution Approach 2:
The system performs preliminary scanning to map the tissue surface and identify suspicious areas before focusing detailed spectroscopic analysis on those regions. This preliminary action allows the simple single-point probe to efficiently gather two-dimensional information by strategically sampling across the tissue surface.
4Adaptability or versatility
If the probe is moved along the endoscope using instrument channels, then the endoscope structure is utilized, but the procedure duration increases and cost increases
Solution Approach 1:
The probe deployment device is merged with the endoscope to form an integrated system. The drive arrangement combines the endoscope's forward motion with lateral probe deployment, allowing simultaneous advancement of both the endoscope and probe along the gastrointestinal tract. This eliminates separate positioning steps and reduces procedure time.
Solution Approach 2:
The probe maintains continuous contact with the tissue wall during endoscope advancement, performing spectral measurements continuously as the system moves forward. This continuous measurement approach eliminates the need to stop and reposition the probe at different locations, reducing procedure duration while maintaining comprehensive coverage.
Data Source
AI summary
The present disclosure relates to an apparatus for mounting on a guide member for insertion into an anatomical cavity, the apparatus comprising a body defining a cavity for receiving a guide member therethrough, a drive arrangement for moving the body along a guide member disposed through the body, a probe secured to the body for, in use, obtaining a measurement from, taking a sample of, applying a substance to, or applying a therapy to, an environment of the body, and a measurement arrangement for measuring a position relative to the guide member disposed through the body.