Liquid Cooled LED Endoscopy Unit with Integrated Tubing
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional arthroscopy units face issues with excessive heat from halogen light sources, fragile fiber-optic cables, and cumbersome tubing and cables that entangle and contaminate the surgical field, limiting surgeon dexterity.
Innovation Solution
A single, non-slip tubing unit integrating irrigation, suction, and LED power supply, with a liquid cooling chamber that allows sterile irrigation fluid to directly contact LED elements, reducing heat and featuring a quick connect mechanism for simplified setup.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Illumination intensity
If halogen light sources are used in conventional arthroscopy, then sufficient illumination is provided, but excessive heat is generated requiring fan cooling
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines the LED light source, cooling chamber, irrigation/suction channels, and power supply into a single integrated arthroscope unit. This merging eliminates the need for separate halogen light sources and external cooling fans, directly addressing the heat generation problem while maintaining illumination.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent uses a liquid cooling chamber with irrigation fluid circulation to remove heat from LED light sources. The cooling system utilizes hydraulic principles by pumping sterile irrigation fluid through channels that contact the LED elements, absorbing excess heat and carrying it away, thus solving the heat generation issue without requiring mechanical fans.
2Adaptability or versatility
If multiple separate tubing and cables are used for irrigation, suction, and power supply, then functional requirements are met, but the surgical field becomes congested and dexterity is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The patent integrates irrigation tubing, suction tubing, power supply cables, and data transmission lines into a single unified arthroscope shaft. This consolidation eliminates the congestion of multiple separate tubes and cables in the surgical field, directly improving surgeon dexterity and ease of operation while maintaining all necessary functional capabilities through the integrated design.
3Illumination intensity
If fiber-optic cables are used to transmit light, then light transmission is achieved, but the cables are fragile and sustain damage from sterilization
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs LED light sources with integrated light-emitting elements that are inherently more durable than fiber-optic cables. The solid-state LED structure withstands sterilization processes without the fragility issues of fiber-optic materials, providing reliable long-term performance through a design that eliminates the vulnerable fiber-optic connection points.
4Temperature
If LED light sources are mounted on aluminum or ceramic substrates with cooling channels, then heat management is improved, but the cooling fluid does not directly contact the LED elements
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the cooling function from a secondary heat sink system and makes it primary by using sterile irrigation fluid that directly contacts the LED elements. The cooling chamber design allows the irrigation fluid to flow over and directly cool the LED light sources, maximizing heat transfer efficiency and eliminating energy loss associated with indirect cooling through substrates.
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
The solution effectively reduces heat generation, prevents cable entanglement and contamination, and enhances visualization with UV light for fluorescein endoscopy, improving surgical efficiency and safety.
Implementation Method 1
a liquid cooling chamber allowing the sterile irrigation fluid to come in direct contact with the LED elements and reducing any heat generated by the LED light source
Implementation Method 2
The cooling chamber comprises an ingress channel for allowing the irrigation fluid to flow into the cooling chamber and an egress channel for allowing the irrigation fluid to flow out of the cooling chamber
Data Source
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AI summary
A liquid cooled endoscopy unit having plurality of LED light source units integrated into the proximal end of the arthroscope. The LED light source is cooled by the sterile conventional irrigation fluid circulating inside a cooling chamber located in the body of the arthroscope and conveniently capable on demand of emitting UV light for fluorescence endoscopy. The inventive device conveniently incorporates and contains all tubing and power supply cables for the camera and LED light source in a single tubing.