Pleural Lavage Controller for Hemothorax Drainage
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current methods for managing retained hemothorax, such as tube thoracostomy and video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery, are inefficient and costly due to the need for specialized expertise and resources, and often fail to effectively clear clots from the pleural space, leading to complications like empyema and prolonged recovery.
Innovation Solution
A low-cost, simple-to-use system for pleural lavage that employs a lavage controller with automated saline infusion and suction to facilitate rapid drainage through existing chest tubes, allowing for prophylactic lavage at the time of thoracostomy and adjustable protocols to reduce the need for secondary interventions.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery is performed to clear clots from the pleural space, then drainage effectiveness is improved, but device complexity and cost increase significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a mechanical clot breaker device as an intermediary tool that can be inserted through the existing chest tube to physically disrupt clots. This mediator enables effective clot clearance without requiring complex surgical intervention, thus maintaining drainage effectiveness while reducing device complexity and cost.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces the complex mechanical system of video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery with a simpler mechanical clot breaker device that can be operated through the existing chest tube. This substitution maintains the ability to clear clots while eliminating the need for sophisticated surgical equipment and expertise.
2Reliability
If specialized surgical expertise is utilized for retained hemothorax management, then treatment effectiveness is improved, but ease of operation deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent enables the chest tube system to serve itself by including a clot breaker that can be deployed through the existing tube. This self-service capability allows non-specialist operators to effectively manage retained hemothorax by simply activating the clot breaker mechanism, eliminating the need for specialized surgical expertise while maintaining treatment effectiveness.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent extracts the clot-breaking function from the complex surgical procedure and incorporates it directly into the chest tube system. This extraction allows the clot clearance function to be performed independently of specialized surgical intervention, improving ease of operation while maintaining treatment effectiveness.
3Object-affected harmful factors
If secondary surgical intervention is performed for retained hemothorax, then complication risk is reduced, but loss of time increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent incorporates a clot breaker device in the chest tube system that enables preliminary clot disruption at the time of initial tube placement or soon thereafter. This preliminary action prevents the formation of organized clots that would require secondary surgical intervention, thereby reducing complication risk while avoiding the time loss associated with delayed treatment.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent enables continuous clot breakdown and drainage by maintaining the clot breaker function active throughout the drainage period. This continuous useful action prevents clot reformation and ensures sustained drainage effectiveness, eliminating the need for intermittent secondary interventions and reducing overall treatment time.
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 improves drainage efficiency, reduces the risk of complications like empyema, and minimizes the need for costly surgical interventions by enabling effective pleural lavage at the bedside with minimal training requirements, facilitating easier transition between lavage and suction modes without breaking the sterile circuit.
Implementation Method 1
The system includes a fluid source in fluid communication with the chest tube for infusing a fluid through the chest tube into the pleural space
Implementation Method 2
a suction source in fluid communication with the chest tube for applying suction to the pleural space through the chest tube
Implementation Method 3
a lavage controller that alternates between the fluid source and the suction source in automated fashion
Data Source
AI summary
A low-cost and simple-to-use system and method to facilitate a prophylactic pleural lavage protocol at the time of thoracostomy tube placement for traumatic hemothorax in order to reduce the need for secondary intervention for the management of retained hemothorax. The invention may be used in conjunction with existing chest tubes and be administered at the time of initial chest tube placement, and continued at the bedside (by a bedside nurse) over the duration of chest drainage, as necessary. The system includes an operator device that semi-automatically administers a pleural lavage protocol consisting of saline instillation, and suction to slow the clotting process, prevent “gelling” of blood, and maintain drainability.