Grooved Steerable Tube for Flexible Medical Instruments
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Solution Overview
Problem
Manufacturing a flexible telerobotic instrument that is small enough to navigate through narrow anatomical passageways while maintaining mechanical structures for remote operation is challenging due to size constraints.
Innovation Solution
A minimally invasive surgical or diagnostic instrument comprising an elongate flexible body with a steerable tube and actuation tendons, where the steerable tube has channels to receive conduits and tendons, allowing for bending and navigation through anatomical structures without increasing the outer diameter or reducing the inner luminal diameter.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If mechanical structures for remote operation are included in the instrument, then the instrument can perform telerobotic functions, but the outer diameter increases making it difficult to navigate narrow anatomical passageways
Solution Approach 1:
The patent embeds conduits containing actuation tendons directly within the wall thickness of the steerable tube, nesting control structures inside the tube wall rather than placing them externally or in separate lumens. This allows the instrument to maintain a small outer diameter while still incorporating the mechanical structures necessary for telerobotic operation and steering control.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent utilizes the wall thickness dimension of the steerable tube as a space for housing conduits and tendons. By transitioning from a two-dimensional surface arrangement to a three-dimensional wall embedding, the design accommodates additional mechanical components without increasing the outer diameter, effectively using the radial dimension to resolve the size constraint.
2Area of moving object
If the outer diameter is reduced to fit narrow passageways, then the instrument can navigate anatomical structures, but the inner luminal diameter is reduced limiting instrument functionality
Solution Approach 1:
By nesting the conduits and tendons within the tube wall rather than placing them in separate internal lumens, the patent preserves the central lumen space for passing surgical instruments. This nesting arrangement maintains a larger inner luminal diameter despite the reduced overall size, allowing full instrument functionality to be retained.
Solution Approach 2:
The steerable tube is designed with a flexible structure that can bend and articulate while maintaining its structural integrity. The flexible nature of the tube wall allows it to accommodate the embedded conduits while still providing sufficient strength for steering and maintaining luminal patency, enabling the instrument to navigate tortuous anatomical pathways.
3Area of moving object
If conduits are embedded within the steerable tube wall, then the instrument achieves compact size and flexibility, but manufacturing complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent utilizes laser cutting technology to create channels within the tube wall, transforming the manufacturing process from traditional mechanical methods to precision optical processing. This parameter change in the manufacturing approach enables complex three-dimensional conduit embedding while maintaining consistency and precision, reducing the practical difficulty of implementation.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces traditional mechanical conduit routing methods with laser-based channel creation. By substituting mechanical drilling or routing operations with laser cutting, the manufacturing process achieves greater precision, flexibility in channel design, and reduced mechanical stress on the tube material, simplifying the overall manufacturing complexity.
Data Source
AI summary
A medical instrument comprises an elongate flexible body comprising a proximal portion, a distal portion comprising a steerable tube and a plurality of channels, a transition portion between the proximal portion and the distal portion, and an inner sheath extending at least within the proximal portion. The inner sheath comprises a plurality of conduits extending through a wall of the inner sheath, and a distal end of each conduit terminates at the transition portion. The medical instrument further comprises at least one tendon extending from the proximal portion into the distal portion of the elongate flexible body. In the proximal portion, the tendon extends through at least one conduit of the plurality of conduits. In the distal portion, the tendon extends within at least one channel of the plurality of channels.