Peripheral Nerve Blocking Set with Flexible Catheter Sleeve
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing peripheral nerve blocking techniques face challenges in achieving precise and reliable positioning of cannula tips during surgical or analgesic treatments, often risking damage to neural tissue and requiring complex handling and additional components for anesthetic delivery.
Innovation Solution
A set comprising a rigid unipolar stimulation cannula with an electrically insulating coating and a flexible Teflon catheter sleeve, along with a soft, flexible inner catheter, allows for precise positioning using electrostimulation and reduces tissue damage by adapting to anatomical conditions, with integrated features for direct connection and ultrasonic visibility.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If a rigid cannula is used for puncturing the perineural space, then precise positioning can be achieved through electrostimulation, but the risk of damage to neural tissue increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs a flexible catheter sleeve that tapers conically at its distal end, allowing it to navigate through tissue with reduced trauma. The flexible material and tapered design enable the catheter to adapt to anatomical structures while maintaining positioning accuracy, thus resolving the contradiction between precise positioning and tissue damage risk
Solution Approach 2:
The cannula serves as an intermediary tool that enables precise positioning through electrostimulation but is then removed. The flexible catheter sleeve acts as a mediator that maintains the positioned location while reducing tissue damage risk, as it can be advanced through the puncture site without the rigidity of the cannula
2Measurement precision
If a catheter sleeve is pushed onto the cannula for introduction into the perineural space, then the catheter can be positioned accurately, but the handling complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent utilizes a nested structure where the flexible catheter sleeve is pushed over the rigid cannula. The cannula with its electrostimulation capability guides the catheter to the precise location, after which the catheter sleeve remains in place while the cannula is removed. This nested approach maintains positioning accuracy while streamlining the overall procedure
3Ease of operation
If the distal end of the catheter sleeve is made thin-walled and tapered for easy penetration, then tissue penetration is facilitated, but the structural strength decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The catheter sleeve exhibits local quality variations: the distal end is made thin-walled and tapered conically to facilitate easy tissue penetration, while the proximal portion maintains sufficient wall thickness for structural strength. This gradient design allows the catheter to be both easily insertable and mechanically robust where needed
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
Facilitates simple and reliable peripheral nerve blocking with reduced risk of neural tissue damage, efficient anesthetic delivery, and improved handling by enabling precise positioning and continuous anesthesia with reduced steps and components.
Implementation Method 1
The precise position of the distal cannula tip is determined by electrostimulation by means of a stimulator connected proximally to the cannula
Implementation Method 2
the catheter sleeve sits on the outside circumference of the cannula with a slight radial elastic tension
Implementation Method 3
The distal end of the catheter sleeve has a thin wall and tapers conically at the distal end, so that the catheter sleeve together with the cannula can penetrate easily through body tissue
Data Source
AI summary
A set for peripheral nerve blocking, including a rigid cannula, an outer catheter sleeve which can be slid over the cannula, where the distal tip of the cannula protrudes over the distal end of the catheter sleeve, an inner catheter which can be inserted through the catheter sleeve after removal of the cannula from the catheter sleeve and which has an outlet opening at the distal end, and a first connector piece at the proximal end of the catheter sleeve, where the inner catheter has a second connector piece complementary to the first connector piece, and the inner catheter can be fixed in an axial position by connecting the first connector piece and the second connector piece in the catheter sleeve, in which axial position the distal end of the inner catheter protrudes from the distal end of the catheter sleeve with a pre-defined length which has the outlet opening.