Flexible Lens for Endoscope Camera Fluid Displacement
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Current imaging devices used to view interior body cavities face challenges in maintaining a clear field of view due to fluid obstruction, as existing methods either introduce additional trauma or provide inconsistent views, especially when rigid caps or balloons are used.
Innovation Solution
A flexible and resilient external lens for elongate medical devices that changes shape from a nominal to a compressed state upon contact with a vessel wall, allowing for improved fluid displacement and maintaining a thin profile, made from materials like curing adhesive or clear silicone, and featuring a translucent portion for enhanced visibility.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a rigid cap is used to protect the camera and maintain a fixed field of view, then the camera is protected from damage, but the device causes trauma to the patient upon contact with vessel walls and the field of view width is limited
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies a flexible lens cap made of elastomeric material that can deform upon contact with vessel walls, preventing trauma while maintaining camera protection. The flexible material conforms to the vessel wall shape rather than forcing the vessel to accommodate a rigid structure.
Solution Approach 2:
The lens cap transitions from a rigid fixed state to a flexible dynamic state that can adapt its shape and size. The flexible material allows the cap to expand or deform when contacting vessel walls, enabling the field of view to widen dynamically without causing patient trauma.
2Loss of information
If a balloon is used to displace opaque fluid and clear the field of view, then visibility is improved, but the thin balloon moves side to side causing inconsistent field of view
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses a flexible lens cap that maintains its structural integrity while adapting to vessel walls, providing stable positioning without the side-to-side movement experienced with thin balloons. The elastomeric material provides sufficient rigidity to maintain position while remaining flexible enough to conform to the vessel geometry.
3Area of stationary object
If the lens body is compressed against a barrier, then the field of view width increases and fluid displacement improves, but the lens length decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The lens body dynamically changes its dimensions in response to compression forces. When compressed against a barrier, the lens transitions to a shorter, wider configuration that increases field of view width and improves fluid displacement capability, while returning to its original length when the compression force is removed.
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 flexible lens effectively clears the field of view by adapting to the vessel wall, reducing trauma and maintaining a clear, wider angle of vision while returning to its nominal shape for repositioning, thus addressing the limitations of existing methods.
Implementation Method 1
the lens body has a generally flexible and resilient construction; wherein the lens will transition from the nominal state to the compressed state in response to compression against a barrier and will transition from the compressed state to the nominal state in response to disengagement from the barrier
Implementation Method 2
a translucent portion of the lens body for creating a field of view for the camera
Data Source
AI summary
A flexible lens is mounted to the end of an elongate medical device having a camera, such as an endoscope. The lens is generally solid and is made from a translucent, flexible, and resilient material. In a medical environment, the lens can be pressed against a vessel wall in a patient to enlarge the area viewed by the camera, and can further adapt to the shape of the wall to limit trauma on the patient. When pressed against the vessel wall, the lens can become longitudinally compressed, while becoming wider. The wider and compressed shape of the lens will push blood away from the viewing area to increase the clarity of the camera's field of view.