Electrosurgical Fallopian Tube Sealing with Suction
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current methods for permanently sterilizing women, such as salpingectomy and hysteroscopic fallopian tubal occlusion, either require invasive procedures with general anesthesia or leave foreign materials in the body cavity, lacking a minimally invasive solution that does not involve foreign implants.
Innovation Solution
An electrosurgical device with an elongated shaft, active electrode, and return electrode, capable of delivering electrosurgical energy and suction through a hysteroscopic approach, allowing for the sealing of fallopian tubes without foreign materials, usable in a medical office without general anesthesia, featuring a flexible shaft, flare for airtight seal creation, and vacuum source integration for tissue collapse and sealing.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If hysteroscopic fallopian tubal occlusion with permanent implants is used, then sterilization is achieved without general anesthesia, but foreign materials are left in the body cavity
Solution Approach 1:
The invention extracts and removes the foreign implant materials from the sterilization process. Instead of leaving permanent implants in the fallopian tubes, the electrosurgical device seals the tubes using only energy delivery and suction, eliminating the need for foreign materials that would otherwise remain in the body cavity.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention replaces the mechanical implant system with an energy-based system. Rather than mechanically occluding the fallopian tubes with implants, the device uses electrosurgical energy to seal the tubes, substituting a mechanical foreign body approach with a thermal/electrical energy approach that leaves no foreign materials behind.
2Reliability
If abdominal salpingectomy or tubal ligation is used, then permanent sterilization is achieved, but invasive procedures with general anesthesia are required
Solution Approach 1:
The invention replaces complex mechanical surgical procedures (abdominal salpingectomy or tubal ligation) with a simplified electrosurgical energy delivery system. The electrosurgical device achieves reliable tube sealing through controlled energy delivery and suction, eliminating the need for invasive abdominal surgery and general anesthesia while maintaining sterilization effectiveness.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention changes the fundamental parameters of the sterilization procedure by transitioning from mechanical cutting and tying to electrosurgical energy delivery. This parameter change allows the procedure to be performed through a hysteroscopic approach rather than abdominal surgery, reducing invasiveness while maintaining reliability.
3Object-generated harmful factors
If electrosurgical energy is delivered to seal fallopian tubes, then foreign materials are avoided, but tissue sealing requires precise energy delivery and tissue collapse
Solution Approach 1:
The invention merges two functions into a single integrated device: tissue collapse through suction and electrosurgical energy delivery. The electrosurgical device combines the suction channel and electrode system in one instrument, allowing simultaneous tissue collapse and sealing without requiring separate devices or complex coordination between multiple components.
Solution Approach 2:
The suction channel acts as an intermediary that prepares the tissue for energy delivery. By collapsing the tissue through suction before or during energy delivery, the system creates optimal conditions for effective sealing, using the suction mechanism as a mediator to enhance the electrosurgical sealing process.
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
Enables immediate and permanent sealing of fallopian tubes in a minimally invasive manner, reducing procedure time and costs, improving patient outcomes by avoiding foreign implants and general anesthesia.
Implementation Method 1
The distal portion of the elongated shaft includes a distal tip that is configured to provide suction from a suction source to the distal tip through the channel
Implementation Method 2
The active electrode is positioned adjacent the distal tip of the elongated shaft and is configured to deliver electrosurgical energy to tissue
Implementation Method 3
The return electrode is positioned on an outer surface of the end effector proximal of the active electrode. The return electrode is configured to provide a return path for the electrosurgical energy
Data Source
AI summary
An electrosurgical device includes an elongated shaft, an active electrode, and a return electrode. The elongated shaft has an end effector that is operably engaged with a distal portion thereof and a channel defined therethrough. The distal portion of the elongated shaft includes a distal tip that is configured to provide suction from a suction surface to the distal tip through the channel. The end effector may include a flare a proximal end thereof. The active electrode is positioned adjacent the distal tip of the elongated shaft and is configured to deliver electrosurgical energy to tissue. The return electrode is positioned on an outer surface of the end effector proximal of the active electrode. The return electrode is configured to provide a return path for the electrosurgical energy.