Lighted Thoracic Tunneling Shaft for Substernal Visibility
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing medical procedures for implanting devices like ICDs in patients with previous sternotomies face challenges due to scar tissue and adhesions, making it difficult to safely traverse thoracic tissues without damaging vital organs like the heart or lungs, as conventional tunneling tools lack effective visualization during implantation.
Innovation Solution
A tunneling tool with integrated lighting elements along its shaft that emit light visible through patient tissue, allowing an endoscope to visualize the tool's trajectory and position, enhancing safety and accuracy during implantation by illuminating thoracic structures and guiding the tool's path.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If conventional tunneling tools are used for substernal access in patients with previous sternotomies, then the procedure can be performed, but the risk of damaging vital organs increases due to lack of visualization through scar tissue and adhesions
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies light emission from LEDs integrated into the tunneling tool shaft. The lighting elements emit visible light that travels through tissue to illuminate internal structures, enabling real-time visualization of the tunneling path and surrounding anatomy during the procedure
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces conventional mechanical visualization methods (direct line-of-sight) with optical illumination. By integrating light-emitting diodes along the shaft, the system enables visualization through tissue without requiring direct visual access to the surgical field
2Ease of operation
If a sternotomy is performed to access the heart, then direct access to vital organs is achieved, but the procedure becomes more invasive with longer recovery time and scarring
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the approach from open surgical access to percutaneous tunneling. By using a flexible shaft with integrated lighting that can be advanced through subcutaneous tissue, the procedure achieves cardiac access without requiring sternotomy, thereby reducing surgical invasiveness
3Adaptability or versatility
If tunneling is performed through scar tissue in previous sternotomy patients, then access can be gained, but visualization of the tunneling path becomes difficult increasing procedural difficulty
Solution Approach 1:
The patent places lighting elements at specific locations along the shaft - including distal, intermediate, and proximal portions. This distributed illumination strategy ensures that light penetrates through scar tissue at multiple points, enabling comprehensive visualization of the heterogeneous tissue layers encountered during tunneling
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
Enables safe and precise implantation of medical devices like ICDs in patients with previous sternotomies by providing real-time visualization of the tunneling tool's trajectory and orientation relative to patient tissues, reducing the risk of injury to vital organs.
Implementation Method 1
one or more lighting elements disposed along the length of the tunneling shaft, each of the one or more lighting elements configured to emit light detectable through tissue of a patient by an optical sensor
Data Source
AI summary
A tunneling tool includes a handle, a tunneling shaft extending from the handle and defining a length, and one or more lighting elements disposed along the length of the tunneling shaft, each of the one or more lighting elements configured to emit light detectable through tissue of a patient by an optical sensor.