Endoscopic Overtube Segmented Channels Rotation Control
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Current endoscopic surgical systems face challenges in allowing surgeons to easily change the visual field of an endoscope without assistance, as existing systems either complicate the interlocking mechanism between the endoscope and treatment tool or result in unstable observation images due to mechanical coupling, and overtubes with single insertion passages limit tool rotation and torque control.
Innovation Solution
An endoscopic surgical device with an overtube featuring separate endoscope and treatment tool insertion passages, an interlocking member with dead and sensing zones for independent movement, and a rotation-preventing wall surface to maintain tool orientation, allowing for controlled movement and rotation of instruments within the body cavity.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If the endoscope and treatment tool are mechanically coupled to move integrally, then the visual field changes follow the treatment tool movement, but the observation image becomes unstable due to minute movements
Solution Approach 1:
The patent divides the overtube into multiple independent insertion passages (endoscope insertion passage and treatment tool insertion passage) instead of a single coupled channel. This segmentation allows the endoscope and treatment tool to move independently within their respective passages, preventing the transmission of minute movements from the treatment tool to the endoscope, thus stabilizing the observation image while maintaining visual field control capability
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces separate insertion passages as intermediary structures between the overtube and the instruments. These passages act as mediators that allow controlled movement of the treatment tool without directly coupling it to the endoscope, thereby enabling visual field adjustment while filtering out destabilizing minute movements
2Device complexity
If a single insertion passage is used in the overtube, then the structure is simplified, but the treatment tool rotation and torque control are limited
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the single insertion passage into multiple separate passages (endoscope insertion passage and treatment tool insertion passage). This segmentation enables the treatment tool to rotate independently within its own passage while the endoscope remains stable in its passage, providing both structural simplicity and enhanced rotational adaptability
Solution Approach 2:
The patent adds rotational freedom in a new dimension by providing separate passages that allow the treatment tool to rotate around its own axis independently of the endoscope's positional stability, thus expanding the operational versatility without significantly increasing overall structural complexity
3Ease of operation
If the endoscope and treatment tool are interlocked, then the surgeon can control the visual field independently, but the interlocking mechanism becomes enlarged and complicated
Solution Approach 1:
The patent achieves independent control without complex interlocking mechanisms by segmenting the overtube into separate insertion passages. Each passage independently guides its respective instrument, eliminating the need for mechanical coupling or interlocking components while still allowing the surgeon to control the visual field by moving the endoscope independently
Solution Approach 2:
The patent extracts the interlocking mechanism entirely by using separate insertion passages instead of coupled channels. The independence of control is achieved through spatial separation rather than mechanical connection, thereby simplifying the overall device structure by removing unnecessary interlocking components
Data Source
AI summary
The overtube includes a slider within an overtube body, which guides an endoscope and a treatment tool into a body cavity. An endoscope-coupled part and a treatment tool-coupled part are provided inside the slider, and the slider has a dead zone where the forward and backward movement of either the endoscope or the treatment tool does not interlock with the movement of the other and a sensing zone where the forward and backward movement of either the endoscope or the treatment tool interlocks with the movement of the other. A contact surface of the overtube body with a body wall is constituted of a wall surface member that serves as a rotation-preventing wall surface for preventing rotation in a rotational direction with an axial direction of the overtube body as a center.