Oral Capnography Accessory for Bite Block Sampling
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current capnography monitoring during surgical procedures, especially under deep or moderate sedation, faces challenges in accurately sampling carbon dioxide from a patient's mouth due to the invasive nature of existing devices, which can hinder real-time ventilation monitoring and increase the risk of breathing disorders.
Innovation Solution
An oral capnography accessory device is designed to be minimally invasive, attaching to a conventional bite block and featuring a main body with latch arms and a tube attachment, allowing for the sampling of oral exhalations through a pathway that is robust, lightweight, and biocompatible, enabling accurate CO2 sampling without obstructing the mouth.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If conventional capnography devices are used for CO2 sampling, then ventilation monitoring can be performed, but the devices are invasive and can obstruct the mouth
Solution Approach 1:
The device is divided into distinct functional segments: a bite block portion that interfaces with the patient's teeth, a main body portion containing the sampling pathway, and a tube attachment portion. This segmentation allows each component to perform its specific function while minimizing overall invasiveness - the bite block provides structural support without obstructing the mouth, the main body houses the sampling pathway, and the tube attachment connects to monitoring systems.
Solution Approach 2:
The device introduces an intermediary sampling pathway between the patient's oral cavity and the capnography monitoring system. Rather than requiring direct insertion of tubing into the mouth, the device creates an intermediate chamber that captures exhaled CO2 and channels it through a controlled pathway to the monitor, reducing direct mouth obstruction while maintaining monitoring reliability.
2Object-affected harmful factors
If a minimally invasive design is used, then mouth access is maintained for surgery, but the device must attach to existing structures like bite blocks
Solution Approach 1:
The device merges the capnography sampling function with the existing bite block structure. The bite block portion of the device integrates directly with standard bite blocks used in oral surgery, combining the airway protection function of the bite block with the CO2 sampling function of the capnography device. This eliminates the need for separate attachment mechanisms while maintaining both mouth accessibility and monitoring capability.
Solution Approach 2:
The device is designed with universal compatibility with standard bite blocks and capnography monitoring systems. The main body portion can interface with various bite block designs, and the tube attachment can connect to different monitoring system configurations. This multi-functionality allows the device to serve multiple purposes: providing structural support, capturing CO2 samples, and interfacing with existing monitoring infrastructure without requiring custom modifications.
3Measurement precision
If the device structure is made robust for accurate sampling, then CO2 sampling reliability improves, but the device weight and complexity increase
Solution Approach 1:
The device utilizes a thin-walled yet structurally sound main body portion that provides sufficient rigidity to maintain the sampling pathway geometry while minimizing weight. The bite block portion employs thin film structures that are adequate for their structural support function without adding unnecessary mass. This approach ensures measurement precision is maintained while keeping the overall device weight low.
Data Source
AI summary
An oral capnography accessory device provides a pathway for sampling oral exhalations of carbon dioxide from a mouth of a patient. The device is used in combination with a bite block. The device includes a main body extending linearly along a longitudinal axis, latch arms extending from a buccal facing surface of the main body and forming a cavity into which the bite block is insertable, and tube attachment extending from a lingual facing surface of the main body. Tubing is insertable through a passageway therethrough of the tube attachment. The device is configured for use with a nose or face mask, and with a monitoring system.