Flexible Nerve Sensor with Movable Strips for Surgical Monitoring
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing nerve/muscle monitoring sensors are too rigid, leading to poor contact and potential damage during surgery, and complex expandable sensors risk causing trauma due to excessive force or insertion complications.
Innovation Solution
A flexible sensor arrangement with radially movable strips secured to an insertion member, allowing for reactive contact with nerves without mechanical actuation, ensuring compliance with body cavity shapes and minimizing risk of damage.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Stability of the object's composition
If rigid sensors are used for nerve monitoring, then structural stability is improved, but contact quality with nerves deteriorates and risk of nerve damage increases
Solution Approach 1:
The sensor arrangement transitions from a rigid structure to a dynamic configuration where the sensor element can change its orientation and position relative to the nerve. The sensor is mounted on a movable support structure that allows it to adapt its angle and location to maintain optimal contact with the nerve during surgical manipulation, thereby improving contact quality while maintaining structural integrity.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention changes the physical parameters of the sensor mounting system by introducing degrees of freedom in orientation and position. The sensor can adjust its angular orientation and radial position to match the nerve's location and orientation, transforming a fixed-parameter rigid structure into a variable-parameter adaptive structure that improves contact quality without sacrificing overall structural stability.
2Stability of the object's composition
If rigid sensors are used for nerve monitoring, then structural stability is improved, but risk of nerve damage increases
Solution Approach 1:
The sensor support structure incorporates dynamic movement capabilities that allow the sensor to follow the nerve's position and orientation changes during surgery. This dynamic adaptation prevents the sensor from exerting excessive or misdirected forces on the nerve, thereby reducing the risk of nerve damage while maintaining structural stability of the overall monitoring system.
Solution Approach 2:
The sensor arrangement is designed to self-adjust its position and orientation in response to nerve movement or surgical manipulation. The movable support structure allows the sensor to passively follow the nerve's location without requiring active control mechanisms, enabling the system to automatically avoid causing harm to the nerve while maintaining stable monitoring capability.
3Reliability
If expandable sensors are used to improve contact with nerves, then sensing capability is improved, but insertion complexity and risk of trauma increase
Solution Approach 1:
The sensor system is segmented into a sensor element and a separate movable support structure. This segmentation allows the sensor to be inserted in a compact, low-profile state and then deployed or positioned against the nerve using the movable support, avoiding the need for complex expansion mechanisms while maintaining good sensing capability through adaptive positioning.
4Reliability
If complex actuation mechanisms are added to expand sensors, then contact quality is improved, but device complexity and risk of trauma increase
Solution Approach 1:
The sensor arrangement uses the natural movements and manipulations during surgery to drive the sensor into contact with the nerve. The movable support structure allows the sensor to be positioned by the surgeon's normal surgical actions rather than requiring separate actuation mechanisms, thereby achieving good contact quality without adding device complexity or increasing trauma risk from additional actuation steps.
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 strips provide reliable, non-invasive nerve monitoring with reduced risk of trauma, maintaining effective contact and simplifying insertion/removal processes, while avoiding unnecessary force and complexity.
Implementation Method 1
The sensing element is arranged to contact the nerve or muscle and is capable of detecting electrical signals
Data Source
Figure 1~3
Figure 4a~4b
Figure 4c
AI summary
Sensor arrangement for sensing activity in a nerve or muscle, the sensor arrangement being arranged to be secured to an insertion member for insertion into a body cavity, the sensor arrangement (2) comprising a support for supporting one or more sensing elements, the support comprising a first zone (10a) and a second zone (10b) spaced apart longitudinally from the first zone, where each of the first and second zones are arranged to be secured to the insertion member to define a fixed spacing therebetween, wherein a plurality of strips (16) comprising one or more sensing elements bridge at least part of the spacing between the first and second zones, the strips being moveable laterally relative to the longitudinal length of the support.