Nasal Rinse Tip With Segmented Apertures for Pressure Attenuation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Nasal lavage products often dispense rinse solution at excessive pressure, causing discomfort during use.
Innovation Solution
A device with a flexible tip and actuator system that attenuates fluid pressure, allowing for a gentle and controlled flow of solution, suitable for nasal irrigation, featuring a chamber that resists pressure changes and a tip with strategically placed apertures to redirect fluid flow for comfort and effectiveness.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If nasal lavage products dispense rinse solution at high pressure, then the solution can effectively reach and clean the nasal passages, but it causes discomfort and irritation to the user
Solution Approach 1:
The tip is segmented into multiple apertures (at least four apertures) arranged in a specific pattern, which divides the high-pressure fluid stream into multiple smaller streams. This segmentation reduces the pressure and impact force of the fluid while maintaining effective coverage of the nasal passages, thereby resolving the contradiction between cleaning effectiveness and user comfort.
Solution Approach 2:
The tip features a tapered canal that transitions from a larger aperture at the proximal portion to a smaller opening at the distal portion. This local variation in geometry creates a pressure gradient that attenuates the fluid pressure progressively as it travels through the tip, allowing effective cleaning at the target location while reducing discomfort at the point of contact with nasal tissue.
2Quantity of substance
If the tip aperture is large to allow sufficient fluid flow, then cleaning effectiveness is improved, but the pressure and force of the stream increase causing user discomfort
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of using a single large aperture, the tip employs multiple smaller apertures (at least four) distributed across its surface. This segmentation maintains the total fluid flow rate needed for effective cleaning while dividing the pressure across multiple exit points, significantly reducing the pressure and force of individual streams and thereby improving user comfort.
Solution Approach 2:
The apertures are arranged in a specific two-dimensional pattern on the tip surface, with at least four apertures surrounding a central stop. This spatial distribution in another dimension allows the fluid to be dispersed over a wider area, reducing the concentration of pressure at any single point while maintaining adequate total fluid delivery for effective nasal irrigation.
3Ease of manufacture
If the tip is rigid to maintain structural integrity, then manufacturing is easier, but it cannot adapt to different user anatomies and causes discomfort
Solution Approach 1:
The tip is constructed from flexible materials such as silicone that can deform and adapt to the unique anatomy of each user's nasal passages. This flexibility allows the tip to conform to different shapes and sizes without requiring complex manufacturing processes, as the material itself provides the adaptation capability. The flexible structure maintains structural integrity while enabling customization to individual user needs, thereby resolving the contradiction between ease of manufacture and ease of operation.
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 provides a gentle and comfortable nasal irrigation experience, increasing treatment compliance and reducing irritation, making nasal lavage more effective and user-friendly.
Implementation Method 1
the tip is configured to attenuate a pressure of fluid flow exiting the actuator
Implementation Method 2
The tip can have a distal portion and a proximate portion, an aperture in the proximate portion defines an interior of a collar that surrounds a portion of the actuator, the distal portion has one or more apertures and a stop, the stop of the tip can be positioned to block the fluid flow exiting the aperture and causes the fluid flow to be redirected toward the proximate portion of the tip
Implementation Method 3
the body is configured to resist a change in shape when a pressure change occurs within the body
Data Source
AI summary
A device for nasal lavage is described. The device ejects a gentle flow of fluid under pressure. The fluid stream provides a high quantity of fluid at low pressure. The low pressure fluid stream is more comfortable for a user than a high pressure fluid stream that is delivered by some types of pressurized cans of solution.