Flexible Sheath With Expandable Frame For Endoscope Access
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Solution Overview
Problem
Translumenal procedures face risks of bodily fluid spillage and infection due to the lack of effective sealing and rigidity in traditional overtubes used for accessing bodily lumens, which restricts endoscope manipulation.
Innovation Solution
A medical system comprising a flexible sheath and an expandable frame, where the sheath folds into a collapsed configuration for easy insertion and expands to form a secure pathway, with gripping members to maintain position and prevent fluid leakage, allowing for secure engagement with the bodily tissue.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If traditional overtubes are used to protect the mouth and esophagus during endoscope delivery, then protection against bodily fluid spillage is improved, but the overtubes are rigid and restrict endoscope manipulation
Solution Approach 1:
The overtube is designed with a flexible, collapsible structure that can dynamically change its configuration. It collapses during delivery to navigate the gastrointestinal tract and expands at the target site to provide protection, allowing it to adapt between rigid protection and flexible manipulation states
Solution Approach 2:
The patent employs a flexible shell structure for the overtube that can be compressed and expanded. This flexible shell allows the tube to conform to the gastrointestinal tract during delivery while providing a seal against bodily fluids when expanded at the target site, resolving the contradiction between protection and manipulability
2Reliability
If traditional overtubes are used to protect against bodily fluid spillage, then sealing is improved, but the rigid structure restricts the ability to manipulate the endoscope as desired
Solution Approach 1:
The overtube transitions from a collapsed flexible state during delivery to an expanded sealed state at the target site. This dynamic transformation allows the same structure to provide both sealing capability and manipulation flexibility at different stages of the procedure
Solution Approach 2:
The overtube structure is segmented into collapsible sections that can be compressed during delivery and expanded at the target site. This segmentation allows the tube to provide sealing where needed while remaining flexible and manageable during the procedure
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 safe and effective access to internal bodily openings while preventing fluid leakage and allowing for flexible manipulation of medical instruments, reducing the risk of infection and improving procedural safety.
Implementation Method 1
The expandable frame exerts a radially outward force on the sheath in their respective expanded configurations
Implementation Method 2
The flexible sheath preferably folds onto itself in the collapsed configuration
Implementation Method 3
a distal portion of the sheath wraps around a distal end of the expandable frame to enclose the expandable frame within the distal portion of the sheath
Data Source
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Figure 9
AI summary
Medical systems, devices and methods are provided for accessing a bodily opening that, among other things, are safe and reliable, and facilitate manipulation of a medical instrument. The medical access device generally includes an elongated flexible sheath and an expandable frame connected to the distal end of the flexible sheath. The sheath and expandable frame are operable between expanded and collapsed configurations to provide a pathway from a natural orifice to the bodily opening. Medical systems and methods are also provided for delivering the medical device.