Multi-lumen Access Port with Pivotally Connected Tubes
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current access devices for laparoscopic surgery lack the flexibility and versatility to accommodate multiple surgical instruments of varying sizes and shapes, limiting the surgeon's ability to maneuver and visualize the surgical site effectively.
Innovation Solution
A multi-lumen access port with pivotally connected access tubes and a flexible support body that provides a fluid-tight seal, allowing for the insertion of surgical instruments, insufflation, and visualization, while enabling relative movement of the access tubes to facilitate surgical procedures.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If a single-lumen access device is used, then the device structure is simple, but it cannot accommodate multiple surgical instruments of varying sizes and shapes
Solution Approach 1:
The access device is divided into multiple separate lumens (first lumen, second lumen, etc.) within a single port body. Each lumen can independently receive different surgical instruments, allowing multiple tools to access the abdominal cavity simultaneously through one incision site while maintaining structural organization.
Solution Approach 2:
The port body is designed as a universal access structure that can accommodate various types of surgical instruments through its multiple lumens. The port serves multiple functions: receiving insufflation gas, accepting laparoscopes, and accepting different surgical instruments, all through a single integrated device.
2Ease of operation
If rigid access tubes are used, then the structural stability is high, but the ability to maneuver and adjust positioning is limited
Solution Approach 1:
The access tubes are designed with dynamic characteristics, allowing them to pivot and rotate relative to the port body and to each other. This dynamic capability enables surgeons to adjust the positioning and orientation of instruments during surgery while the tubes remain connected to the stable port structure anchored in the abdominal wall.
Solution Approach 2:
The access tubes can change their spatial parameters (orientation, angle, position) through pivotal movement. This allows the tubes to adapt their configuration during surgery to reach different surgical sites while maintaining their connection to the fixed port structure.
3Productivity
If multiple separate ports are inserted through different incisions, then each instrument has independent access, but the number of incisions and recovery time increase
Solution Approach 1:
Multiple access functions that would traditionally require separate ports and incisions are merged into a single multi-lumen port device. Multiple lumens are integrated within one port body, allowing multiple instruments to be introduced through a single incision, thereby reducing the total number of incisions needed.
Solution Approach 2:
Multiple lumens are nested within the single port body structure. Each lumen is contained within the overall port assembly, allowing hierarchical organization where smaller tube structures are nested within the larger port structure, all accessing the abdominal cavity through one incision site.
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
Enhances surgical efficiency by allowing multiple instruments to be used simultaneously, providing a secure and flexible access point for laparoscopic procedures, reducing recovery time and costs compared to open surgery.
Implementation Method 1
a support body adapted for providing in use a fluid-tight seal at an incision in a patient's body
Data Source
Figure 1~5
AI summary
An access device (200) comprising: a body (50) for providing, in use, a substantially fluid-tight seal at an opening or incision; a first tube (210) extending through the body; a second tube (230) extending through the body; and characterised by a juncture (256) operably coupling and joining the first and second tubes at the distal ends (216, 236) of the tubes such that at least one tube is moveable with respect to the other tube.