Flexible Cannula with Actuation Cable for Endoscopic Delivery
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current endoscopic devices for delivering therapeutic substances into articular cavities, such as those for osteoarthritis treatment, face challenges including uneven distribution, difficulty in accessing small or hard-to-reach areas, and the need for multiple invasive procedures.
Innovation Solution
A novel arthroscopic delivery device featuring a cannula with a flexible distal portion and a substantially rigid intermediate portion, equipped with an actuation cable that allows precise control over the cannula's bending, enabling uniform distribution and easy access to challenging areas.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Manufacturing precision
If a stiff or flexible but not orientable cannula is used, then the device structure is simple, but the uniform distribution of therapeutic substances cannot be achieved
Solution Approach 1:
The cannula is designed with a flexible distal portion that can dynamically change its orientation in response to actuation cable tension, allowing the extrusion mouth to be positioned at different angles relative to the longitudinal axis. This dynamic flexibility enables uniform substance distribution without requiring a complex rigid orienting mechanism.
Solution Approach 2:
The system changes the flexibility parameter of the cannula's distal portion, making it compliant rather than rigid. This parameter change allows the cannula to be oriented at various angles by simple cable tensioning, achieving precise substance distribution while maintaining structural simplicity.
2Adaptability or versatility
If a flexible distal portion with actuation cable is used, then the accessibility to small or hard-to-reach areas is improved, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The cannula is segmented into a rigid proximal portion and a flexible distal portion. This segmentation allows the distal end to bend and reach difficult areas while the proximal end remains stable and simple. The actuation cable provides independent control of the flexible portion's orientation.
Solution Approach 2:
The actuation cable acts as an intermediary element that transmits tension from the proximal end to the flexible distal portion, enabling remote control of the cannula's orientation without requiring complex mechanical joints or actuators at the tip.
3Reliability
If multiple treatment procedures are performed, then the treatment completeness is improved, but the treatment time and patient discomfort increase
Solution Approach 1:
The cannula is designed as a multi-functional device that can deliver multiple different therapeutic substances through its extrusion channel. The flexible distal portion can be oriented to reach various areas of the articular cavity, allowing comprehensive treatment in a single procedure rather than requiring multiple separate treatments.
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
The device allows for precise and uniform delivery of therapeutic substances into articular cavities, reducing the need for multiple invasive procedures, improving accessibility to small or hard-to-reach areas, and enhancing treatment efficacy.
Implementation Method 1
a flexible distal portion (15) having an extrusion mouth (16)... wherein the distal rigid edge (54) has a passageway exit (53) for the actuation cable (50), said distal edge and said passageway exit arranged in such a way that only the flexible distal portion (15) of the cannula (10) can be brought, by the actuation cable (50), from the undeformed conformation to the deformed conformation
Data Source
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AI summary
A device for endoscopically delivering at least one therapeutic substance includes a cannula (10) defining at least one extrusion channel (11) and comprises a proximal portion (19), a flexible distal portion (15) having an extrusion mouth (16), and a substantially rigid intermediate portion (17) between the flexible distal portion (15) and the proximal portion (19). The proximal portion (19) is configured to feed and push a therapeutic substance into the extrusion channel (11), so that the latter can pass through the extrusion channel (11) flowing through the intermediate portion (17) and through the flexible distal portion (15) and can exit from the extrusion mouth (16). The device also comprises at least one actuation cable (50, 50', 50") having a proximal end (59) operable at the proximal portion (19) and a distal end (55) connected to the flexible distal portion (15) at the extrusion mouth (16), and configured to pull the flexible distal portion (15) with a force transversal to the extrusion channel (11), bringing the flexible distal portion (15) from an undeformed conformation (A) to a deformed conformation (B). According to the invention, the substantially rigid intermediate portion (17) has a distal rigid edge (54) from which the flexible distal portion protrudes (15), and in which the distal rigid edge (54) has a passageway exit (53) of a passageway (56) for the actuation cable (50), the distal rigid edge (54) and the passageway exit (53) of the passageway arranged in such a way that only the flexible distal portion (15) of the cannula (10) can be brought, by the actuation cable (50, 50', 50"), from the undeformed conformation (A) to the deformed conformation (B) while the intermediate portion (17) remains undeformed.