Multi-Lumen Catheter With Deformable Lumens for Tool Insertion
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing endoscopes are limited by the fixed camera size, requiring larger diameters and restricting the size of tools, leading to entanglement or reduced image quality, and multi-lumen endoscopes are constrained by the size of natural orifices, limiting tool insertion and image quality.
Innovation Solution
A multi-lumen catheter with adjustable lumens that allow tools larger than their resting size to be inserted without increasing the catheter's external diameter, enabling sequential tool insertion and maintaining high-quality imaging.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the camera is permanently fixed in the operating channel of the endoscope, then the endoscope can provide continuous imaging, but the endoscope diameter becomes larger than the sum of the camera size and endoscopic tool size, restricting tool size selection
Solution Approach 1:
The catheter lumens are designed to be dynamically deformable, allowing them to change size based on the inserted tool. The lumens can be smaller than the tool head when no tool is present, and expand to accommodate the tool during insertion, then return to their smaller natural size afterward. This dynamic behavior resolves the contradiction by allowing continuous imaging while maintaining a smaller overall catheter diameter.
Solution Approach 2:
The catheter system allows the imaging device to be inserted into one lumen while the tool is inserted into another lumen, with both devices nested within the catheter structure. The lumens can temporarily merge or expand to accommodate tools larger than their individual natural sections, enabling both imaging and tool delivery through a compact catheter design.
2Length of moving object
If smaller endoscopes are used to access smaller internal diameter target zones, then the invasiveness is reduced, but the size of the endoscopic tool that can be inserted is limited
Solution Approach 1:
The catheter lumens dynamically adjust their effective size to accommodate tools of varying dimensions. When a larger tool needs to be inserted, the lumen expands beyond its natural section to accommodate the tool head, then returns to its smaller size afterward. This allows a single small-catheter design to support multiple tool sizes for different procedural needs.
Solution Approach 2:
The catheter system changes the physical parameters of its lumens (size, shape, configuration) based on the inserted tool requirements. The lumens can transform from their natural smaller configuration to an expanded configuration that accommodates larger tool heads, enabling the same catheter to adapt to different tool sizes and procedural requirements.
3Adaptability or versatility
If multiple small tools are inserted into the operating channel simultaneously, then more functions can be performed, but the tools may entangle
Solution Approach 1:
The catheter is divided into multiple separate lumens, with each lumen designed to receive and guide a specific tool independently. This segmentation prevents tool entanglement by providing dedicated pathways for each instrument, while still allowing multiple tools to be inserted and manipulated simultaneously within the catheter structure.
4Length of moving object
If the size of multi-lumen endoscopes is increased to allow all tools to be inserted, then tool accessibility is improved, but the endoscope cannot be inserted through small natural orifices
Solution Approach 1:
The catheter lumens are designed with dynamic deformability, allowing them to be smaller than the tool heads when no tools are inserted. During tool insertion, the lumens expand to accommodate the larger tool dimensions, then return to their compact natural size. This dynamic size adjustment enables the catheter to pass through small natural orifices while still accommodating full-sized tools during procedures.
5Adaptability or versatility
If standard sized endoscopes are used for various camera and tool combinations, then device availability is improved, but the endoscope size is generally not adapted to specific procedural needs
Solution Approach 1:
The catheter system provides universal compatibility with multiple camera and tool combinations through its multi-lumen design. Each lumen can independently accommodate different devices, and the lumens can dynamically adjust their size to fit various tool dimensions. This allows a single catheter design to serve multiple procedural needs without requiring different sized endoscopes.
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 catheter enables insertion into small orifices with direct high-quality imaging and tool operation, supporting various tools and reducing manufacturing costs, suitable for diverse endoscopic procedures.
Implementation Method 1
the first lumen being configured to reach a tool insertion state, the first lumen comprising, in the tool insertion state, an insertion part configured to receive the head part of said tool
Implementation Method 2
the insertion part having a variable position along the catheter axis to allow the passage of the head part along the catheter axis
Data Source
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AI summary
The present invention relates to a catheter (100), said catheter comprising a catheter body and at least two lumens configured for passing of a tool (50) wherein a natural section of the first lumen is smaller than a head section of the tool (50), the first lumen being configured to reach a tool insertion state.