Nested Needle Heating Instrument for Minimally Invasive Cancer Treatment
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing minimally invasive treatments for advanced cancer stages, such as lung and pancreatic cancer, face challenges in effectively heating affected areas without causing significant burden to patients, as traditional methods often require surgical intervention or are not precise in temperature control.
Innovation Solution
A living body heating instrument comprising an inner needle with a heater and biocompatibility, combined with an outer needle, allows for precise heating of affected areas, with optional temperature detection elements for accurate temperature control, and a control device for independent heater management, enabling minimally invasive procedures without surgical incision.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If surgical removal is performed for advanced cancer, then treatment effectiveness is improved, but patient burden and invasiveness increase
Solution Approach 1:
The invention extracts the essential therapeutic function (heating/cauterization) from traditional surgical procedures. By using a needle-type heater that can be inserted percutaneously rather than requiring open surgery, the patent removes the harmful invasive aspect while preserving the therapeutic effectiveness through localized thermal ablation of cancer cells
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces a needle-type heater as an intermediary device that delivers thermal energy directly to the cancerous tissue through percutaneous insertion. This intermediary approach allows treatment of advanced cancer without the need for major surgical intervention, reducing patient burden while maintaining treatment effectiveness through controlled local heating
2Reliability
If traditional heating methods are used, then cancer cells can be treated, but temperature control precision is insufficient
Solution Approach 1:
The patent incorporates temperature detecting elements (such as thermocouples) that provide real-time feedback on the temperature at the heating site. This feedback mechanism allows the control device to monitor and adjust the heating power dynamically, ensuring precise temperature control that prevents overheating of healthy tissues while effectively treating cancer cells
Solution Approach 2:
The invention enables precise control of heating parameters (temperature, heating time, power output) through the control device that receives input from temperature detecting elements. By dynamically adjusting these parameters based on real-time temperature measurements, the system achieves precise thermal management for effective cancer cell ablation without damaging surrounding healthy tissue
3Reliability
If heater is inserted into living body, then affected part can be heated, but surrounding healthy tissues may be damaged
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality by concentrating the heating effect precisely at the needle tip where the cancerous tissue is located. The needle-type heater design ensures that thermal energy is delivered locally to the affected area, while the control system maintains temperature within safe limits to prevent damage to surrounding healthy tissues through controlled local heating rather than diffuse thermal spread
4Object-affected harmful factors
If minimally invasive treatment is used, then patient burden is reduced, but treatment precision and effectiveness may be compromised
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces the mechanical surgical intervention system with a percutaneous needle-based thermal ablation system. This substitution maintains treatment precision through controlled thermal delivery and real-time temperature monitoring while significantly reducing patient burden by avoiding major surgical incisions and hospitalization, achieving effective cancer cell destruction through minimally invasive means
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 instrument allows for precise cauterization of affected areas with minimal invasion, enabling effective treatment by heating cancer cells while minimizing damage to healthy tissues, and allows for post-cauterization drug injection, offering a more controlled and less invasive treatment option.
Implementation Method 1
the inner needle has biocompatibility and thermal conductivity, and contains a heater
Implementation Method 2
the inner needle has biocompatibility and thermal conductivity
Data Source
AI summary
A living body heating instrument is pushed or inserted into an affected part to continuously perform cauterization and vaccinotherapy. A living body heating instrument that is pushed or inserted into an affected part of a living body to heat the affected part includes: an inner needle; and an outer needle having a hollow portion into which the inner needle is inserted through an opening at the needle base side toward the needle tip side. The inner needle has biocompatibility and thermal conductivity, and contains a heater. The affected part is cauterized by the heater with the inner needle inserted in the outer needle. Next, the inner needle is withdrawn, and a drug is injected through the outer needle, which remains inserted, to perform immunotherapy. A temperature detecting element may be provided in an inner part of the inner needle or on an outer surface of the outer needle.