Flexible Tip Medical Device Intuitive Control Mechanism
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current medical devices with flexible tips for intravenous use lack intuitive control mechanisms for bending the tip in multiple directions, often requiring complex fine motor skills and causing unnecessary friction with the patient's body.
Innovation Solution
A medical device with a handle, flexible tubing, and a flexible tip that includes a tip actuator assembly and user-operable controls allowing for intuitive adjustment of the bending plane and degree of bending without rotating the flexible tubing, enabling single-handed operation and minimizing friction with the patient's body.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If sliding or rotational movement of the actuator is used to control the tip, then the tip can be bent in one or more directions, but the control requires complex fine motor skills and is not intuitive for simultaneous operation in two different planes
Solution Approach 1:
The control mechanism adds a second degree of freedom by allowing the actuator to move both rotationally around the longitudinal axis and translationally along the longitudinal axis. This dimensional expansion enables independent control of bending plane (via rotation) and bending degree (via translation), making the device controllable in multiple directions without requiring complex coordinated fine motor skills.
Solution Approach 2:
The control functions are segmented into two independent movements: rotational movement controls the bending plane orientation, while translational movement controls the bending degree. This segmentation allows the operator to control each aspect separately, improving intuitiveness and reducing the complexity of coordinated control.
2Ease of operation
If the actuator is moved forward or backward within a slot to bend the tip in up/down direction, then the tip orientation changes, but this causes friction between the veins and the catheter exterior portion
Solution Approach 1:
The control mechanism decouples tip orientation adjustment from catheter body movement by introducing rotational control around the longitudinal axis. This allows the tip to be oriented in different directions while the catheter exterior portion remains substantially stationary, eliminating friction with the patient's body veins.
Solution Approach 2:
The flexibility and bending capability are localized to the tip portion of the catheter, while the exterior portion remains rigid and stationary. This localized flexibility allows the tip to change orientation without causing friction or discomfort to the patient's body.
3Adaptability or versatility
If rotation of the actuator is used to move the tip in left/right direction, then the tip bends without affecting up/down orientation, but the control is not intuitive for physicians with typical fine motor skills
Solution Approach 1:
The control mechanism adds translational movement along the longitudinal axis as a second dimension of control. This allows the operator to independently adjust the bending degree via translation while maintaining bending plane orientation through rotation, creating an intuitive control scheme that matches natural hand movements.
Solution Approach 2:
The control mechanism allows dynamic adjustment of both bending plane (via rotation) and bending degree (via translation) independently. This dynamic control enables the operator to adapt the tip orientation and curvature in real-time without compromising intuitiveness or requiring complex coordinated movements.
Data Source
AI summary
A medical device includes a handle; flexible tubing extending from the handle and having a proximal end fixed to the handle; flexible tip attached to the distal end of the flexible tubing; a tip actuator assembly adjusting the bending plane of the tip relative to the distal end and adjusting the degree of bending of the tip in the bending plane; user operable controls on the handle and moveable in a first, rotational direction relative to the handle and to a tip actuator assembly around an axis causing the tip actuator assembly to adjust the bending plane of the tip substantially and moveable relative to the handle and the tip actuator assembly along a second, substantially linear direction towards and away from the proximal end of the flexible tubing, causing the tip actuator assembly to adjust bending of the tip in the bending plane without adjusting the bending plane.