Peristaltic Pump Drainage System for Post-Operative Fluid Analysis
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Current medical devices for draining serous or serosanguinous fluid after surgery are cumbersome, prone to clogging, and lack diagnostic capabilities, requiring patients to manually measure and report fluid collection, which is inefficient and may lead to suboptimal care due to patient self-reporting and limited ability to detect post-operative complications such as cancer recurrence.
Innovation Solution
A system utilizing powered negative pressure and disposable reservoirs with one-way valves for continuous fluid drainage and analysis, allowing for automatic measurement and wireless communication of fluid parameters like pH and chemical mediators, enabling continuous monitoring and diagnostic analysis of seroma fluid for improved patient care.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Device complexity
If passive drainage devices are used, then device simplicity is maintained, but drainage effectiveness deteriorates due to clogging and limited pressure application
Solution Approach 1:
The peristaltic pump automatically performs drainage without requiring patient intervention to empty bulbs or adjust devices. The pump self-regulates fluid collection and removal, eliminating the need for patient to manually manage drainage bulbs while maintaining continuous effective drainage through automated peristaltic action on the collection bag.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces passive mechanical gravity-based drainage with an active peristaltic pumping system. The pump uses rhythmic compression of tubing to create controlled negative pressure, substituting the inadequate passive mechanical drainage with an active mechanical system that provides consistent, measurable, and effective fluid removal without clogging.
2Device complexity
If patients manually measure and report fluid collection, then device complexity is reduced, but measurement precision and reliability deteriorate due to self-reporting errors
Solution Approach 1:
The system automatically measures fluid volume and characteristics without patient intervention. The peristaltic pump's controlled dispensing into a graduated collection bag, combined with automated timing and wireless data transmission, eliminates patient self-measurement and reporting errors while maintaining a relatively simple overall device structure.
Solution Approach 2:
The system incorporates wireless communication that automatically transmits fluid collection data to healthcare providers. This feedback mechanism replaces manual patient reporting with automated data transmission, ensuring accurate measurement and reporting of fluid volume, pH, and other parameters without requiring patient involvement in the measurement process.
3Productivity
If continuous negative pressure drainage is implemented, then drainage effectiveness is improved, but device complexity increases due to powered sources and control systems
Solution Approach 1:
The peristaltic pump uses periodic rhythmic compression of the tubing to create intermittent negative pressure that effectively drains fluid. This periodic mechanical action, rather than continuous powered suction, achieves continuous drainage capability while keeping the powered system relatively simple and reliable through well-established peristaltic pumping mechanics.
Solution Approach 2:
The system employs a disposable collection bag that is discarded after use, eliminating the need for complex cleaning, sterilization, and maintenance of the collection reservoir. This disposable component approach reduces overall device complexity by removing maintenance requirements while enabling continuous effective drainage during the bag's service life.
4Loss of information
If diagnostic analysis of seroma fluid is enabled, then diagnostic capability is improved, but loss of time for sample collection and transport increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system maintains continuous fluid collection and storage in a sealed, sterile environment from the moment of production. By continuously collecting fluid in the peristaltic pump's integrated collection bag with maintained negative pressure and sterile barriers, the system eliminates gaps in sample availability that would otherwise require additional collection trips or transport delays.
Solution Approach 2:
The peristaltic pump system acts as an intermediary that collects, stores, and preserves seroma fluid in a controlled environment before analysis. The sealed collection bag with maintained negative pressure and sterile barriers serves as an intermediate storage system that keeps samples viable for diagnostic analysis without requiring immediate transport, thereby reducing time loss while maintaining diagnostic capability.
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 system provides efficient, continuous drainage and diagnostic capabilities, reducing patient burden and improving clinical decision-making by automating fluid measurement and analysis, enhancing the detection of post-operative complications and infection indicators.
Implementation Method 1
a pump unit including a peristaltic pump, one or more drainage structures, and one or more collection bags, wherein the pump unit is configured to create a continuous negative pressure between the peristaltic pump and the one or more drainage structures to draw the fluid through the one or more drainage structures into the pump unit
Implementation Method 2
Devices which are designed to remove serous or serosanguinous fluid from the internal percutaneous space of a patient after surgery are cumbersome for patients to manage and apply severely limited pressure to the internal space resulting in ineffective drainage
Data Source
AI summary
A method of analyzing fluid collected from a wound site, the method comprising the steps of: (a) providing a pump unit comprising: one or more pumps, one or more fluid collectors, and one or more drainage structures each in communication with an exit site of the wound site to draw the fluid through the one or more drainage structures into the pump unit and create a negative pressure at the exit site to remove and transport the fluid from the exit site and into the one or more fluid collectors, wherein the pump unit is configured to create a negative pressure, wherein the fluid removal from the exit site is provided at a controlled and measured rate; b) collecting the fluid within the one or more fluid collectors; c) removing the one or more fluid collectors; e) capping the one or more fluid collectors with a cap; and d) analyzing the collected fluid of step “b” once the fluid connectors are removed in step “c”.