Expandable Working Channel Enables Multiple Biopsy Tools in Slim Scopes
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Medical scopes like ureteroscopes and endoscopes have limited space for instruments due to their reduced profile, necessitating frequent instrument removal and replacement, which prolongs procedures and increases complications.
Innovation Solution
A medical device with an expandable working channel at the distal tip, featuring an elastic material to temporarily enlarge and accommodate multiple instruments, including an imaging device and light source, allowing simultaneous delivery and navigation through tortuous anatomy.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Length of moving object
If the scope has a reduced profile to traverse through patient anatomy, then the scope can navigate tortuous anatomy, but the number and types of instruments that may be passed through the working channel is limited
Solution Approach 1:
The working channel is designed with an expandable distal opening that can dynamically change size. The opening is collapsed during navigation to maintain a reduced scope profile, then expanded at the target site to accommodate multiple instruments simultaneously, resolving the contradiction between maintaining a small profile and accommodating multiple instruments
Solution Approach 2:
Multiple instruments are passed through a single expandable working channel in a nested configuration. The instruments are delivered one after another through the same channel and can be positioned at different depths, allowing multiple tools to be nested within the single scope structure
2Area of stationary object
If space at the distal face is limited to accommodate electronic components, then the scope can maintain a reduced profile, but multiple instruments cannot be accommodinated simultaneously
Solution Approach 1:
The distal opening of the working channel is designed to be expandable, allowing it to transition from a collapsed state during navigation to an expanded state at the target site. This dynamic expansion provides sufficient space for multiple instruments to be passed through and positioned, while maintaining a compact profile during traversal
3Adaptability or versatility
If instruments are removed and replaced during the procedure, then different instruments can be used for different tasks, but the procedure duration increases and complications may occur
Solution Approach 1:
The expandable working channel serves as a universal access route that can accommodate multiple different instrument types simultaneously. By allowing forceps, graspers, and other biopsy instruments to be passed through the same expandable channel at the same time, the system eliminates the need for repeated instrument removal and replacement, thereby reducing procedure duration and minimizing complications
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
Facilitates efficient delivery and collection of biopsy samples by enabling multiple instruments to pass through a reduced-profile scope, reducing procedure duration and complications.
Implementation Method 1
At least a portion of the shaft around the opening may include an elastic material such the opening is expandable in a direction away from the imaging device and the light source
Data Source
AI summary
Devices, systems and methods for multiple biopsy collection are described. The medical device may include a shaft defining a working channel extending from a proximal portion of the shaft to an opening at a distal tip of the shaft. A distalmost face of the distal tip may include an imaging device and a light source proximate the opening. The working channel may have a first size at the opening and a second size proximal to the imaging device and the light source, e.g., the second size being greater than the first size. At least a portion of the shaft around the opening may comprise an elastic material such that the opening is expandable in a direction away from the imaging device and the light source.