Ghost Ring Guide for Accurate Percutaneous Needle Placement
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Solution Overview
Problem
The challenge lies in accurately placing percutaneously inserted medical devices while minimizing radiation exposure for medical professionals and reducing patient discomfort, as current methods often result in improper placement and increased trauma to soft tissues due to large needle sizes and reliance on imaging technologies that expose clinicians to radiation.
Innovation Solution
The development of an aiming device with elongated needle portions and fixed directing members, made of radiopaque materials, which create a channel allowing for precise alignment and visualization under imaging techniques, enabling safer and more accurate placement of medical devices by guiding them to the desired location within the body.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If fluoroscopy imaging is used to monitor needle placement, then placement accuracy is improved, but clinician radiation exposure increases
Solution Approach 1:
The ghost rings are attached to the needle before insertion, establishing a pre-configured visual reference system that enables accurate placement without requiring continuous fluoroscopy monitoring during the insertion process
Solution Approach 2:
The ghost rings create a visual copy or representation of the needle's position and orientation that can be seen on fluoroscopic images, allowing the clinician to track placement accuracy without directly viewing the needle tip under radiation
2Measurement precision
If multiple attempts are made to place the needle correctly, then placement accuracy is improved, but patient tissue trauma increases
Solution Approach 1:
The ghost rings are pre-attached to the needle with radiopaque markers positioned at specific intervals, creating a built-in guidance system that enables accurate placement on the first attempt by providing continuous visual feedback on needle position and orientation
Solution Approach 2:
The radiopaque ghost rings provide real-time visual feedback on fluoroscopic images, allowing the clinician to monitor needle advancement and adjust positioning to achieve accurate placement without multiple attempts
3Measurement precision
If the needle is manipulated directly under fluoroscopy, then placement accuracy is improved, but clinician radiation exposure increases
Solution Approach 1:
The ghost rings create a radiopaque visual copy of the needle's position that can be monitored on fluoroscopic images, allowing the clinician to track and control needle placement accuracy without needing to maintain direct visual contact with the needle under radiation
4Measurement precision
If imaging equipment is used continuously, then placement accuracy is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The ghost rings are pre-attached to the needle with radiopaque markers positioned at specific intervals, creating a built-in guidance system that enables accurate placement without requiring continuous or complex imaging system activation
Solution Approach 2:
The radiopaque ghost rings provide a simplified visual representation of needle position that can be monitored on standard fluoroscopic images, reducing the need for specialized or continuously active imaging equipment
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
This solution enhances the accuracy of medical device placement, reduces radiation exposure for clinicians, and minimizes tissue trauma by providing a stable and precise guide for inserting medical devices, such as vertebroplasty needles, through the use of radiologically visible directing members that align with the desired access point.
Implementation Method 1
At least one of the directing members is of a radiopaque material to be easily visualized under fluoroscopy
Data Source
AI summary
Among other things, there is disclosed embodiments of devices for assisting in aiming and inserting percutaneous medical tools or devices. A mandrel portion with a sharpened end has two or more guiding or directing members attached to it. The guiding or directing members at least partially define spaces that form part of a channel that is oriented parallel to the longitudinal axis of the mandrel portion, and one or both can be easily visualizable using imaging technology. The clinician can insert the aiming or guiding device into the patient, use imaging technology along the axis of the channel of the device to see whether the device is accurately placed, and if so, the guiding or directing members can be used to guide the percutaneous insertion of a medical tool or device.