Flexible Needle With Interrupted Helical Cuts
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Long, flexible needles used for tissue sampling face challenges in maintaining sufficient column strength while avoiding localized stresses at cut ends, which can lead to deformation or breakage due to exclusive use of uninterrupted cut patterns.
Innovation Solution
Incorporating a combination of interrupted and uninterrupted cut sections in a helical pattern along the needle shaft, where the uninterrupted cut extends continuously from the end of the interrupted cut section to redistribute stress and prevent deformation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If uninterrupted cuts are used to make the needle flexible, then the needle can follow tortuous paths, but localized stresses at cut ends cause deformation or breakage
Solution Approach 1:
The needle shaft is divided into multiple cut sections along its length, with each section containing a pattern of interrupted cuts. This segmentation allows the needle to achieve flexibility through distributed stress distribution rather than concentration at single cut locations, enabling the needle to follow tortuous paths while maintaining structural integrity
Solution Approach 2:
Different sections of the needle shaft have different cut patterns - some sections have interrupted cuts while others have uninterrupted cuts. This local variation in cut quality allows specific regions to provide flexibility where needed while other regions maintain strength, resolving the contradiction between overall flexibility and localized stress resistance
2Adaptability or versatility
If cuts are made in the needle wall to increase flexibility, then the needle can bend to conform to curved paths, but the needle loses column strength
Solution Approach 1:
The cutting pattern is segmented into multiple discrete sections along the needle shaft rather than being continuous. This segmentation preserves column strength by maintaining uncut portions of the shaft wall that provide structural support during insertion, while the cut sections provide flexibility for navigating curved paths
Solution Approach 2:
The cut pattern repeats periodically along the needle shaft with regular intervals between cut sections. This periodic structure provides consistent flexibility characteristics throughout the needle length while maintaining sufficient column strength through the uncut portions, enabling the needle to both bend for curved paths and resist buckling during insertion
Data Source
AI summary
Disclosed embodiments include apparatuses, systems, and methods for sampling a targeted region of tissue in a body using a flexible needle including a plurality of interrupted cuts and an uninterrupted cut extending continuously from the uninterrupted cuts to reduce localized strain on the flexible needle. In an illustrative embodiment, an apparatus includes a flexible needle, where the flexible needle includes: a proximal end; a distal end including a needle tip; and a shaft extending between the proximal end and the distal end and including a flexible portion, where the flexible portion includes; an interrupted cut section including a plurality of interrupted cuts in the shaft following a first helical pattern; and an uninterrupted cut section including an uninterrupted cut in the shaft following a second helical pattern where the uninterrupted cut extends continuously from an end of a first terminal cut at a first end of the interrupted cut section.