Endoscopic Tool Support Device with Pivotable Guide Tube
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing endoscopic tissue suturing devices face challenges in compactness and stability when operating in small cavities, such as the oesophagus, and are limited in their ability to use long, rigid needles for thick and tough tissues due to bulkiness and flexibility issues.
Innovation Solution
A device with opposing arms that can adjust their spacing and orientation, featuring a guide tube with a fixed or inclinable outlet for launching needles, and a tissue support surface to maintain stability and compactness, allowing for the use of long, rigid needles in tight spaces.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If the guide tube is slid to assume an S-shape to pivot the distal end for launching suturing needles, then the needle can be directed towards the second projecting member, but the bulkiness of the system increases and additional space within the bodily cavity is required
Solution Approach 1:
The guide tube is divided into a proximal section and a distal section that can pivot relative to each other. This segmentation allows the distal section to be oriented independently for needle launching while the proximal section remains compact, resolving the contradiction between operational capability and system bulkiness.
Solution Approach 2:
The guide tube incorporates a pivotable joint between its proximal and distal sections, enabling dynamic reconfiguration. The distal section can be rotated to the required orientation for needle insertion while maintaining a compact overall structure, eliminating the need for the entire tube to assume an extended S-shape.
2Strength
If longer and stronger needles are used to pierce through thick and tough tissue, then the piercing capability is improved, but the device bulkiness increases and flexibility is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The guide tube's distal section can be rotated out of the longitudinal plane to an angled orientation. This dimensional change allows the needle to be launched at an angle rather than straight ahead, effectively reducing the required needle length and device bulkiness while maintaining piercing capability through geometric advantage.
3Adaptability or versatility
If the guide tube is made flexible to navigate small cavities, then the adaptability to tight spaces is improved, but the stability and support for launching rigid needles is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The guide tube is segmented into flexible proximal and distal sections connected by a pivot joint. The proximal section can flex to navigate small cavities, while the distal section provides a stable, rigid platform for needle launching. This segmentation resolves the contradiction between adaptability and stability.
Solution Approach 2:
The pivot joint acts as an intermediary between the flexible proximal section and the rigid distal section. It allows the flexible section to adapt to cavity geometry while transmitting stable support to the distal section for accurate needle launching, mediating between flexibility and rigidity requirements.
Data Source
AI summary
A device for supporting an endoscopic tool may include opposite first and second arms extending along a first axis. An attachment system is configured to attach the first arm and the second arm to an endoscope. A curved guide for the endoscopic tool is coupled to the first arm, and has an outlet for launching the endoscopic tool. An angled tissue support surface is provided on the second arm, facing the outlet. The outlet is fixable in a working orientation relative to the first axis, and in the working orientation, a recess of the tissue support surface is configured to accept the endoscopic tool when launched from the outlet.