Needle Guide Lock Mechanism for Epidural Depth Control
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing needle placement systems for epidural injections face challenges in maintaining the needle at a proper depth, leading to potential migration and complications when practitioners disconnect and reconnect syringes, which can result in unintended penetration of nerve or vascular structures.
Innovation Solution
A needle guide system with a lock mechanism that allows the needle to move along its axis when unlocked and securely locks it in place when the lock is engaged, preventing further movement and featuring visual indicia for easy position indication, ensuring the needle remains at the desired depth.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If the needle is left movable during syringe exchange, then the practitioner can easily connect and disconnect syringes, but the needle may migrate to unintended depths causing safety complications
Solution Approach 1:
The needle guide system employs a dynamic lock mechanism that transitions between locked and unlocked states. When unlocked, the needle is free to move for syringe exchange; when locked, the needle is fixed at the desired depth. This dynamic state change allows the system to adapt between ease of operation and reliability as needed during different phases of the procedure.
Solution Approach 2:
The system allows the practitioner to preliminarily position the needle at the correct depth before locking it in place. This preliminary positioning action occurs while the lock is in the first position, enabling the needle to be inserted to the precise required depth before the lock engages to prevent any subsequent migration during syringe exchange operations.
2Reliability
If the needle is locked in place, then needle migration is prevented, but the practitioner cannot easily adjust or reposition the needle
Solution Approach 1:
The lock mechanism provides dynamic control over needle adjustability. In the first position, the needle remains adjustable and repositionable. In the second position, the needle becomes fixed and stable. This dynamic transition allows the system to satisfy both reliability and ease of operation requirements at different stages of the medical procedure.
3Measurement precision
If no depth indication system is provided, then the device structure remains simple, but the practitioner cannot easily determine if the needle is at the proper depth
Solution Approach 1:
The lock mechanism incorporates visual indicia using color changes to indicate the locked state. When the lock is in the second position, the visual indicia displays a color or pattern that clearly signals to the practitioner that the needle is secured at the proper depth. This provides precise depth indication through a relatively simple visual cue mechanism.
Data Source
AI summary
A needle guide system comprising a needle guide including at least one wall defining an internal cavity and an outside of the needle guide. A lock is connected to the needle guide. The lock is movable between a first and a second position. A needle is disposed in the internal cavity of the needle guide, the needle having a long axis and a tip. The needle is movable along the long axis with respect to the needle guide when the lock is in the first position and the needle is locked to the needle guide and the tip extends beyond the wall of the needle guide when the lock is in the second position. Visual indicia on the lock may indicate whether the lock is in the first or the second position.