Intubation Device with Expandable Tissue Bolster for Secure Positioning
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current flexible endoscopes have limited working channels, restricting the size and type of medical devices that can be used, and require repetitive insertions/removals during procedures, leading to tissue trauma and discomfort for patients.
Innovation Solution
An intubation device with a flexible tube and a tissue bolster that can be expanded to secure the tube against the body wall, decoupling the bending of the track from the endoscope, allowing for improved access and reduced trauma during procedures.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If a conventional endoscope with a single working channel is used, then the device complexity is reduced and ease of manufacture is improved, but the versatility of medical devices that can be used is limited and productivity decreases due to repeated insertions/removals
Solution Approach 1:
The intubation device is nested within the endoscope's working channel during insertion. The flexible tube is advanced through the endoscope, and the tissue bolster is collapsed during insertion then expanded after positioning, allowing the device to be delivered through a small channel while providing a large functional structure at the destination.
Solution Approach 2:
The tissue bolster transitions from a collapsed configuration during insertion to an expanded configuration after positioning. This dynamic transformation allows the device to pass through the narrow working channel in a compact state, then expand to provide sufficient surface area for securing the tube against the gastric wall.
2Adaptability or versatility
If repeated insertions and removals of devices are performed during the procedure, then adaptability to perform multiple diagnostic and therapeutic tasks is improved, but tissue trauma increases and productivity decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The intubation device combines multiple functions into a single integrated system. The flexible tube provides both the structural framework and the functional lumen for feeding, while the tissue bolster provides securing function, eliminating the need for separate securing devices and reducing the number of insertions required.
Solution Approach 2:
The tissue bolster is pre-positioned on the flexible tube before insertion into the patient's body. During the procedure, the bolster is expanded at the target site to secure the tube in place before any feeding or therapeutic interventions begin, allowing subsequent procedures to be performed without further insertions.
3Stability of the object's composition
If the tissue bolster is secured against the gastric wall, then the positioning stability is improved, but the force required to expand and secure the bolster increases
Solution Approach 1:
The tissue bolster is constructed from flexible, thin-walled material that can be collapsed into a compact configuration for insertion through the narrow working channel. Once positioned, the bolster expands to provide sufficient surface area for securing the tube, achieving stable positioning without requiring excessive expansion force.
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
Enhances access to the gastrointestinal tract for diagnostic and therapeutic procedures, reduces tissue trauma, and improves patient comfort by minimizing repetitive insertions and maintaining secure positioning of medical devices.
Implementation Method 1
a tissue bolster disposed on the proximal portion of the tube and changeable between a collapsed and an expanded configuration
Implementation Method 2
pulling the tube, thereby changing the tissue bolster from the collapsed to the expanded configuration and securing the external portion of the tube against the skin of the patient
Data Source
AI summary
An intubation device is provided for use with a guide apparatus having a track that is adapted to be associated with an endoscope such that bending of the track is substantially decoupled from bending of the endoscope. The intubation device includes an elongated, flexible tube and a mating member attached to the tube and adapted to slidingly engage the track external of the endoscope. The intubation device further includes a tissue bolster disposed on the proximal portion of the tube and changeable between a collapsed and an expanded configuration. The tube is positionable inside the upper gastrointestinal tract of a patient such that the proximal end of the tube is externalized through the gastric and abdominal walls of the patient, and wherein the tissue bolster is securable against the inner gastric wall when the tissue bolster is in the expanded configuration.