Guide Catheter Endotracheal Intubation Visualization
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current endoscopic devices for endotracheal intubation, particularly in patients with difficult airways, face limitations due to small diameter, limited steerability, and insufficient maneuverability, leading to potential vocal cord injury and difficulty in handling anatomical abnormalities.
Innovation Solution
The use of a guide device, such as a catheter or endoscope, with enhanced diameter and steerability, combined with an imaging endoscope for direct visualization, allows for the precise placement of an endotracheal tube under continuous visualization, incorporating features like multiple angulation directions and larger working channels for suction and irrigation, and the option of a separate guide catheter or endoscope for improved control and safety.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Length of moving object
If a small diameter endoscope (4-5 mm) is used to feed the endotracheal tube, then the endotracheal tube can be delivered through the vocal cords, but the maneuverability of the tip is limited and the tip is frequently deflected by tissue
Solution Approach 1:
The device is divided into separate functional components: a guide catheter for navigation and an endoscope for visualization. The guide catheter can be advanced first to establish a stable path, while the endoscope provides visual guidance. This segmentation allows each component to be optimized independently - the guide catheter for stiffness and control, and the endoscope for visualization capabilities.
Solution Approach 2:
The guide catheter acts as an intermediary device that facilitates the delivery of the endotracheal tube. It provides a stable rail or track along which the tube can be advanced, preventing deflection by tissue while maintaining the ability to navigate through the airway. The catheter serves as a mediator between the operator's control and the final positioning of the tube.
2Device complexity
If the endoscope has only one (vertical) angulation direction, then the device structure is simpler, but changing direction in the horizontal direction requires body movement which is difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The guide catheter incorporates dynamic bending capabilities with multiple angulation directions through flex segments or shape memory materials. This allows the catheter to adapt its shape in real-time to navigate complex airway anatomy, providing both vertical and horizontal steering without requiring complex mechanical mechanisms at the tip.
Solution Approach 2:
The catheter's physical parameters such as flexibility, stiffness, and bendability are optimized to enable multi-directional angulation. By changing the material properties and structural parameters of the catheter, it achieves enhanced steerability in both vertical and horizontal planes while maintaining overall structural integrity.
3Length of moving object
If the working channel of the endoscope is small, then the endotracheal tube can be fed onto the endoscope, but the ability to retrieve fluids from the oropharynx is insufficient
Solution Approach 1:
The device separates the functions of tube delivery and fluid management into different components. The guide catheter system includes dedicated lumens for suction and irrigation that are independent of the endoscope's working channel. This segmentation allows the endoscope to maintain a small diameter for tube feeding while the guide catheter provides adequate fluid management capabilities through its own larger channels.
Solution Approach 2:
The guide catheter is designed with multiple functions integrated into a single device: it serves as a delivery rail for the endotracheal tube, provides suction capability through integrated lumens, and allows irrigation. This multi-functionality compensates for the limited working channel of the endoscope, providing comprehensive fluid management without requiring a larger endoscope diameter.
Data Source
AI summary
The present invention relates to a guided endotracheal intubation endoscope. A guide catheter is used to position an endoscope and a tube for intubation of a patient. The endoscope can include a steering device for steering the endoscope in at least two directions, as well as suction, irrigation and retraction devices for maintaining a clear field of view.