Expandable Tissue Dissector Shaft for Electrosurgical Isolation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing electrosurgical procedures face challenges in protecting adjacent tissue from heat during thermal ablation, as fluid-based dissection techniques are difficult to control and require frequent replenishment, prolonging surgical procedures.
Innovation Solution
A deployable tissue dissector with a shaft that transitions from a non-expanded to an expanded configuration, forming a Faraday cage to separate target tissue from neighboring tissue, using materials like shape memory alloy and elastomeric materials, and featuring slits or rings for expansion, allowing precise separation without fluid introduction.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If fluid injection technique is used to dissect adjacent tissue, then tissue separation is achieved, but fluid control becomes difficult and requires frequent replenishment
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the dissection function from fluid injection and transfers it to a deployable shaft structure. The shaft is deployed into the tissue space and expanded to physically separate target tissue from adjacent tissue, eliminating the need for fluid replenishment and providing reliable, continuous tissue separation throughout the surgical procedure.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces the fluid-based dissection system with a mechanical shaft-based system. The deployable shaft with expandable distal end provides mechanical tissue separation through its physical presence and expansion, substituting the fluid injection mechanism and eliminating the time loss associated with fluid replenishment.
2Reliability
If CO2 gas is used for tissue dissection, then tissue separation is achieved, but CO2 dissolves into tissue requiring frequent replenishment
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the dissection function from gas injection and transfers it to a deployable shaft structure. The shaft remains in place throughout the procedure, providing continuous tissue separation without the need for gas replenishment, thereby extending the duration of effective tissue separation.
Solution Approach 2:
The deployable shaft provides continuous, uninterrupted tissue separation throughout the surgical procedure. Unlike CO2 gas that dissolves and requires replenishment, the shaft maintains constant physical separation, ensuring continuous protective action for adjacent tissue during the entire electrosurgical procedure.
3Object-affected harmful factors
If fluid injection is used to protect adjacent tissue, then tissue protection is achieved, but fluid location control becomes difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces the fluid-based protection system with a mechanical shaft structure that can be precisely positioned and deployed. The shaft's location and expansion are mechanically controlled, providing precise spatial control over the protected zone and eliminating the difficulty of controlling fluid location.
Solution Approach 2:
The deployable shaft provides localized tissue protection at the specific site where it is deployed. The expandable distal end creates a focused protective barrier exactly where needed, allowing precise control over the location and extent of tissue protection, unlike diffuse fluid injection.
4Manufacturing precision
If expandable shaft is deployed to separate tissue, then tissue separation precision is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs a nested structure where the distal end of the shaft is expandable from a compact configuration to an expanded configuration. The shaft segments nest within each other during delivery, then expand at the target site to provide precise tissue separation. This nesting principle allows the complex expandable structure to be delivered through a simple catheter while providing sophisticated separation capability at the destination.
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
Effectively isolates neighboring tissue from the target tissue during electrosurgical procedures, reducing the risk of adjacent tissue damage and eliminating the need for fluid replenishment, thereby shortening surgical times.
Implementation Method 1
The distal end of the shaft may form a Faraday cage in the expanded configuration for stopping or impeding propagation of electrosurgical energy
Implementation Method 2
The wire is made from a material selected from the group consisting of shape memory alloy and elastomeric material
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2A~2B
Figure 2C~2D
AI summary
A tissue dissector is provided. The tissue dissector includes an introducer including a lumen extending along a length thereof and defining a longitudinal axis therethrough. The introducer configured for placement adjacent target tissue. A shaft operably coupled to the introducer is deployable from a distal end thereof and includes a proximal end for approximating the distal end of the shaft adjacent target tissue. The distal end of the shaft is movable from a non-expanded configuration to an expanded configuration for separating target tissue from neighboring tissue.