Lockable Pivot Trocar for Image-Guided Abscess Drainage
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing CT-guided drainage methods for deep abscesses are inadequate, often requiring deep advancement with limited guidance, leading to malposition and increased risk of injury to adjacent structures, and are complicated by instruments not fitting within the CT gantry, necessitating reinsertion and time-consuming procedures.
Innovation Solution
A system featuring a lockable and bendable trocar with a joint mechanism that allows for partial advancement and imaging, enabling verification of depth and angle through intermediate CT images, and a bipartite stiffening cannula and tubular drain that can be bent to fit within the CT gantry for improved guidance and reduced procedural complexity.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If instruments are fully advanced into the patient for CT-guided drainage, then drainage placement is achieved, but the instruments will not fit within the CT gantry and deep advancement occurs with little or no CT guidance
Solution Approach 1:
The drainage instrument is divided into multiple segments or sections that can be advanced incrementally. The instrument includes a proximal portion and a distal portion that can be positioned separately, allowing intermediate imaging of each segment as it is advanced into the patient, thereby solving the problem of long instruments not fitting in the CT gantry.
Solution Approach 2:
The instrument is pre-configured with imaging-capable sections or markers at specific intervals along its length. These preliminary configurations allow the system to perform intermediate imaging at predetermined positions during advancement, ensuring accurate placement without requiring the entire instrument to be visible in a single CT scan.
2Measurement precision
If instruments are partially advanced for intermediate imaging, then CT guidance accuracy is improved, but the procedure becomes more complex and time-consuming
Solution Approach 1:
The instrument is designed to maintain continuous advancement while enabling periodic intermediate imaging. The imaging sections are integrated into the instrument structure, allowing imaging to be performed without withdrawing or repositioning the instrument, thus maintaining continuous useful action and reducing procedural time.
Solution Approach 2:
The instrument includes self-contained imaging markers or radiopaque sections that automatically provide imaging information at predetermined positions. This self-service capability eliminates the need for separate imaging equipment or complex positioning procedures, reducing both time and complexity while maintaining accuracy.
3Productivity
If deep advancement is performed with limited CT guidance, then the procedure is faster, but malposition occurs and reinsertion is necessary
Solution Approach 1:
The instrument incorporates intermediate imaging sections that provide real-time feedback during advancement. These sections allow the operator to verify correct positioning at multiple points along the advancement path, enabling immediate correction of trajectory errors and ensuring accurate final placement without requiring reinsertion.
Solution Approach 2:
The instrument is pre-configured with multiple imaging-verified checkpoints along its length. Before final advancement, the instrument passes through these predetermined checkpoints where intermediate imaging confirms correct positioning, ensuring reliable placement while maintaining procedural efficiency through systematic verification.
4Ease of operation
If repositioning is attempted after malposition, then correction is possible, but reinsertion is often necessary which increases procedural complexity
Solution Approach 1:
The instrument features a dynamic, flexible design that allows easy repositioning and adjustment during the procedure. The instrument can be bent, angled, and repositioned without requiring complete removal, enabling correction of malposition through simple manipulation rather than complex reinsertion procedures.
Solution Approach 2:
The instrument allows for easy modification of its positioning parameters such as angle, depth, and orientation during advancement. These parameter changes can be made incrementally with intermediate imaging verification, enabling simple repositioning without increasing procedural complexity or requiring reinsertion.
Data Source
AI summary
In one embodiment, a system for image-guided drainage of abscesses includes a trocar configured to guide a tubular drain toward an abscess within the body of a patient. The trocar includes a joint portion pivotably coupling a proximal portion and a distal portion. The joint portion includes a locking mechanism that when engaged locks the proximal portion in place relative to the distal portion. The joint portion enables the trocar to pivot between an advancement position for advancing the trocar into the body of the patient and an image position for performing a radiology image of a partial advancement of the distal portion within the body of the patient. The image position reduces, relative to the advancement position, the angle between respective central axes of the proximal and distal portions.