Medical Instrument Guide Device Handle Segmentation
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Solution Overview
Problem
The existing medical instrument guide devices, such as the hardening device system in JP2021-531111A, have a complicated handle shape that makes it difficult for operators to grip, affecting the operability of medical instruments during endoscope insertion and treatment, especially in deformable body regions like the sigmoid colon.
Innovation Solution
A medical instrument guide device with a long tube main body and a handle part that includes an inner sheath with a port for fluid supply and discharge, a stress relaxation ring, and a leakage prevention valve, allowing for adjustable hardness and improved grip and assembly, along with a protection sheath that enhances ease of use and prevents fluid leakage.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a hardening device with vacuum or pressure inlet is used to eliminate unstable operation during insertion and treatment, then the stability of the medical instrument is improved, but the handle part becomes complicated in shape making it difficult to grip
Solution Approach 1:
The handle part is segmented into an inner sheath and an outer sheath that can move relative to each other. The inner sheath contains the vacuum/pressure inlet while the outer sheath provides the gripping surface. This segmentation allows the functional components to be separated from the gripping interface, resolving the contradiction between stability function and ease of operation.
Solution Approach 2:
The inner sheath is nested within the outer sheath, with the inner sheath containing the vacuum/pressure inlet and the outer sheath providing the external gripping surface. This nested structure allows the complex functional components to be hidden inside a simple external form, maintaining both stability functionality and ease of gripping.
2Strength
If the inner sheath and tube main body are firmly connected to ensure structural integrity, then the strength is improved, but stress concentrates on the connection portion causing potential leakage
Solution Approach 1:
The connection structure between the inner sheath and tube main body incorporates a localized stress-relieving feature (such as a stepped structure or rounded transition zone) that redistributes stress away from the critical sealing interface. This local modification maintains overall structural integrity while preventing stress concentration that would cause leakage.
3Ease of operation
If the handle part structure is simplified to improve grip, then the ease of operation is improved, but the functionality for fluid supply and discharge may be compromised
Solution Approach 1:
The inner sheath acts as an intermediary component that carries the fluid supply and discharge functionality within the simple outer sheath structure. The port part on the inner sheath provides fluid access while the outer sheath maintains the simple gripping form, allowing both simplicity and functionality to coexist.
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 device improves the operability of medical instruments by providing a simpler and more secure grip, reducing stress on the connection portion, and effectively preventing fluid leakage, thus facilitating precise operations in deformable body regions.
Implementation Method 1
the tube main body includes a hardness change part that is arranged along a longitudinal direction of the tube main body and of which hardness is changed due to the fluid supplied and discharged from the port part
Data Source
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AI summary
Provided is a medical instrument guide device that can improve the operability of a medical instrument. A guide tube of the embodiment includes a long tube main body (50) to be inserted into a body, and a handle part (100) provided on a proximal end side of the tube main body, in which the handle part includes an inner sheath (110) to which a proximal end part (110B) of the tube main body is connected and a protection sheath (120) externally inserted into the inner sheath, and the inner sheath includes a port part (112) for supplying and discharging a fluid to and from the tube main body.