Inverting Conveyor for Endoscopic Adhesive Delivery
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing endoscopic procedures face challenges in delivering prophylactic adhesives effectively to non-smooth target areas in the esophagus, stomach, and colon, leading to potential impairments in visibility, uneven application, and increased procedure duration and cost.
Innovation Solution
A medical device comprising a sleeve, a conveyor movable relative to the sleeve, a treatment agent disposed within a cavity defined by the conveyor, and an actuator coupled to a portion of the conveyor, which allows for precise delivery of the treatment agent to target sites by inverting the conveyor over the sleeve's distal end.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Manufacturing precision
If adhesive is delivered using conventional endoscopic methods, then the procedure can be performed with simple equipment, but the adhesive application becomes uneven and visibility is impaired
Solution Approach 1:
The conveyor is nested within the delivery catheter, allowing the adhesive delivery system to be contained within a compact endoscopic device. The conveyor can be advanced through the catheter and deployed at the target site, providing precise adhesive application without requiring complex external equipment.
Solution Approach 2:
The conveyor is inverted from its initial configuration within the catheter to its deployed configuration at the target site. This inversion mechanism allows the adhesive to be delivered in a controlled manner, ensuring even application across the treatment area while maintaining device simplicity.
2Reliability
If multiple adhesive deliveries are performed to ensure adequate coverage, then complete surface protection is achieved, but procedure duration and cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
The adhesive is prepared and loaded into the conveyor before delivery to the target site. This preliminary preparation ensures that the adhesive is ready for immediate deployment, allowing for complete surface coverage in a single delivery rather than requiring multiple sequential applications.
Solution Approach 2:
The conveyor delivers adhesive continuously along the treatment area, ensuring uniform and complete coverage in one continuous action. This eliminates the need for multiple discrete deliveries, reducing procedure time while maintaining reliable surface protection.
3Reliability
If adhesive is applied to non-smooth target areas in the esophagus, stomach, and colon, then prophylactic protection is provided, but application difficulty increases
Solution Approach 1:
The conveyor is designed to be dynamically adaptable to non-smooth target areas. The flexible conveyor can conform to irregular surfaces in the esophagus, stomach, and colon, allowing reliable adhesive application to complex geometries while maintaining ease of operation through simple actuation.
Data Source
AI summary
Disclosed is a medical device comprising a sleeve; a conveyor movable relative to the sleeve; a treatment agent disposed within a cavity defined by the conveyor; and an actuator coupled to a first portion of the conveyor, wherein the actuator is movable relative to the sleeve; wherein: a second portion of the conveyor is movable from a first position radially within the sleeve to a second position radially exterior to the sleeve, and at least a portion of the treatment agent is movable from a first position within the cavity to a second position outside of the cavity.