Expandable Guide Structure for Stable ERCP Cannulation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Endoscopic procedures, particularly ERCP, face challenges in cannulating the bile duct due to the tightly contracted musculature of the duodenal papilla, requiring high precision and stability that is often compromised by patient movement, leading to multiple or failed attempts.
Innovation Solution
An expandable guide device with compliant expandable members and a body that resists deformation, allowing for independent expansion to stabilize instruments within body lumens, facilitating axial, rotational, and lateral stabilization through fluid communication with inflation fluids like CO2 or contrast media, and featuring lubricious coatings for smooth movement.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the endoscope is maneuvered through the tightly contracted duodenal papilla, then cannulation of the bile duct can be achieved, but patient movement and duodenal movement cause loss of positioning and stabilization, leading to multiple or failed attempts
Solution Approach 1:
The device employs an expandable member that can transition between compressed and expanded states. When compressed, the device is flexible for navigation; when expanded, it provides rigid stabilization against the duodenal wall to maintain instrument positioning during cannulation procedures, directly addressing the stability issue caused by patient and duodenal movement
Solution Approach 2:
The expandable member functions as a flexible shell that can conform to the duodenal wall when expanded, providing stable support and positioning. This flexible structure allows the device to adapt to the curved anatomy while maintaining consistent contact and stabilization during the procedure
2Measurement precision
If the expandable member is expanded to stabilize the instrument, then positioning precision is improved, but the device complexity increases due to additional components and inflation mechanisms
Solution Approach 1:
The expandable member is disposed about the body of the device, with the body having an instrument lumen extending through it. This nested configuration allows the expandable member to be integrated into the existing device structure without requiring separate stabilization systems, thereby reducing overall device complexity while still providing positioning precision
Solution Approach 2:
The body of the device serves multiple functions: it provides structural support, contains the instrument lumen for guiding the catheter, and serves as the core around which the expandable member is disposed. This multi-functionality reduces the need for additional components, addressing the complexity issue while maintaining positioning precision
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
Enhances the precision and efficiency of endoscopic procedures by maintaining instrument stability, reducing the risk of losing positioning, and improving the success rate of cannulation and access to target sites.
Implementation Method 1
fluid communication with at least one of the first and second expandable members. The at least one delivery member may be in fluid communication with a supply of CO2, contrast fluid, shear-thinning material, or air
Implementation Method 2
An inner surface of the first body may further comprise a lubricious coating
Data Source
AI summary
The present disclosure, in its various aspects, is directed to expandable guide devices, implementation methods, and related delivery systems. Embodiments according to the present disclosure, including as described herein, may increase the effectiveness and efficiency of endoscopy procedures. In one example, an expandable guide device is configured to receive an instrument through an instrument lumen of the device, wherein the device comprises first and second bodies, with first and second expandable members disposed about the first and second bodies.