Medical Needle with Curved Insert for Obstacle Navigation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing medical needle guiding devices either increase the needle's diameter, making them more traumatic and costly to manufacture, or have permanently curved tips that limit pathway modification around obstacles.
Innovation Solution
A device comprising a medical needle with regions of differing mechanical behavior, including a curved insert that undergoes localized heat or thermo-mechanical treatment to allow adjustable deformation and curvature, maintaining a small diameter while enabling precise pathway adjustment around obstacles.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If a permanently curved needle tip is used to navigate around obstacles, then the needle can bypass obstacles, but the pathway cannot be modified after insertion
Solution Approach 1:
The needle tip is designed with a curved portion that can dynamically change its curvature state. The curved portion can be deformed from a first curvature state to a second curvature state, allowing the needle to adapt its pathway in real-time during insertion based on encountered obstacles, rather than being fixed permanently.
Solution Approach 2:
The curvature parameter of the needle tip is made variable through the curved portion design. By changing the curvature state of the curved portion (from first to second curvature state), the needle can modify its pathway characteristics to navigate different tissue conditions and obstacle configurations.
2Adaptability or versatility
If concentric curved tubes are used to create a steerable needle, then a three-dimensional pathway can be imparted to avoid obstacles, but the outer diameter increases
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of making the entire needle multi-layered with curved concentric tubes, only the distal tip portion is designed with a curved portion that can deform. This localized curved structure provides the necessary three-dimensional pathway capability while maintaining a small outer diameter along the majority of the needle length, reducing tissue trauma.
Solution Approach 2:
The needle is segmented into a straight shaft portion and a distal tip with a curved portion. The curved portion is further segmented into multiple curved elements that can independently deform, allowing three-dimensional pathway control without requiring the entire needle to have increased diameter.
3Adaptability or versatility
If miniature actuators are attached to the needle surface to apply local stress for steering, then the needle can be steered around obstacles, but the manufacturing becomes difficult and costly
Solution Approach 1:
The complex actuator mechanism is extracted and replaced with a simpler curved portion structure. Instead of attaching miniature actuators to the needle surface, the steering function is achieved through the inherent deformability of the curved portion, which can be shaped and deformed without requiring additional actuating components.
Solution Approach 2:
The curved portion is designed as an integrated part of the needle that can be formed through standard manufacturing processes. This eliminates the need for expensive, complex actuator components and allows for more straightforward fabrication using conventional techniques.
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 allows for localized deformation of the needle, enabling controlled navigation around obstacles without increasing the needle's diameter, facilitating easier insertion and reducing tissue trauma, while being cost-effective and easy to manufacture.
Implementation Method 1
the curved distal portion of the insert being formed by local heat or thermo-mechanical treatment
Implementation Method 2
the curved distal portion of the insert being formed by local heat or thermo-mechanical treatment
Implementation Method 3
the needle has at least two regions having differing mechanical behaviour, the mechanical behaviour of each of said regions and of the curved distal portion of the insert being chosen so that movement of the insert inside the needle imposes localised deformation of the needle and/or insert
Data Source
AI summary
The invention relates to a device for guiding a medical needle, including said medical needle (1) and an insert (2) that is rotatably, translatably, and slidably arranged in the needle (1), wherein said device is characterized in that the insert (2) has, in the free state thereof, a curved distal portion (21), and in that the needle has at least two regions (11, 12), the mechanical behaviors of which are different, wherein the mechanical behaviors of each region (11, 12) and of the curved distal portion (21) of the insert are selected such that a movement of the insert (2) into the needle (1) causes a local deformation of the needle and/or of the insert. The invention also relates to a method for manufacturing said device.