Outer Catheter With Sealing Device For Encapsulated Target Access
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing minimally invasive medical techniques struggle to access encapsulated targets within tissue due to the small size of anatomic passageways or the encapsulation of target tissue, which can lead to challenges in navigating elongate devices and risks such as excessive bleeding and pneumothorax.
Innovation Solution
A medical system comprising an outer catheter with lumens, a sealing device, and an inner instrument with sensors for detecting bleeding, allowing for safe access to encapsulated targets by navigating the outer catheter through anatomic passageways, deploying the inner instrument through a lumen, and using sensors to manage bleeding.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If an elongate device is navigated through anatomic passageways to reach encapsulated target tissue, then the procedure remains minimally invasive, but the device cannot reach the target tissue due to small passageway size or encapsulation
Solution Approach 1:
The system is divided into multiple components: an outer catheter for navigation through passageways, an inner instrument for penetrating encapsulated tissue, and a working instrument for the actual procedure. This segmentation allows each component to perform its specific function optimally while maintaining overall minimally invasive access.
Solution Approach 2:
The inner instrument is nested within the outer catheter, and the working instrument is nested within the inner instrument. This nested configuration allows compact storage and controlled deployment, enabling the system to navigate through small passageways while carrying the capability to penetrate encapsulated tissue when needed.
2Reliability
If the inner instrument penetrates the surface of anatomic passageways to access encapsulated targets, then access to target tissue is achieved, but excessive bleeding may occur
Solution Approach 1:
The sealing device is deployed before the inner instrument penetrates the passageway surface. This preliminary sealing action prevents or minimizes bleeding when the inner instrument subsequently penetrates the encapsulated tissue, addressing the harmful effect before it occurs.
Solution Approach 2:
The sealing device acts as an intermediary between the passageway and the penetration site. It provides a sealed environment that allows the inner instrument to penetrate the encapsulated target while preventing blood loss into the passageway, mediating between the necessary penetration and the harmful bleeding.
3Object-affected harmful factors
If sensors are positioned distal to the sealing device to detect bleeding, then bleeding can be detected and managed, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The inner instrument serves multiple functions: it acts as both the penetration device for accessing encapsulated targets and as a platform for mounting bleeding detection sensors. This multi-functionality reduces overall system complexity while maintaining the capability to detect and manage bleeding.
Solution Approach 2:
The sensing capability is merged with the inner instrument structure. The sensors are integrated into the inner instrument rather than being separate components, which simplifies the overall device architecture while maintaining the ability to detect bleeding distal to the sealing device.
Data Source
AI summary
Systems and methods for performing a minimally invasive procedure within anatomic passageways include an outer catheter including one or more first lumens, a sealing device coupled to the outer catheter, an inner instrument configured to be slideably deployed through one of the one or more first lumens, and one or more first sensors for detecting bleeding wherein the one or more first sensors are configured to be positioned distal to the sealing device. In some embodiments, the outer catheter includes a fiber optic shape sensor. In some embodiments, the inner instrument includes a second lumen, wherein a working instrument is configured to be slideably received through the second lumen. In some embodiments, the inner instrument or the working instrument includes a dilation device for expanding an opening in a surface of the anatomic passageways at a point of entry. In some embodiments, the inner instrument includes a biopsy needle.