Electrosurgical Radiating Tip for Winding Passageways
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional electrosurgical instruments face challenges in locating and maneuvering to target tissues in difficult-to-reach areas, such as moving lungs or thin-walled gastrointestinal tracts, due to limited flexibility and maneuverability, leading to potential damage to surrounding healthy tissue.
Innovation Solution
The electrosurgical instrument features a radiating tip with enhanced flexibility through a dielectric body and outer sheath designed for separate movement, incorporating a cavity or lumen to facilitate bending and a helical shape for improved maneuverability, allowing precise delivery of microwave and radiofrequency energy to target tissues.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Strength
If the radiating tip is made rigid to maintain structural integrity, then strength is improved, but flexibility and maneuverability deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The radiating tip is divided into multiple segments including a proximal portion, a distal portion, and an intermediate portion with a cavity. This segmentation allows each segment to maintain structural integrity while the overall structure achieves flexibility through relative movement between segments.
Solution Approach 2:
The intermediate portion of the radiating tip is designed to be flexible or movable relative to the proximal and distal portions. This dynamic design allows the radiating tip to bend and conform to winding passageways while maintaining structural integrity through the rigid proximal and distal portions.
2Ease of operation
If the radiating tip is made flexible to navigate winding passageways, then ease of operation is improved, but structural stability deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The radiating tip is segmented into rigid proximal and distal portions connected by a flexible intermediate portion. This segmentation allows the tip to navigate winding passageways while maintaining structural stability through the rigid end portions.
Solution Approach 2:
The intermediate portion is designed as a flexible element that can bend and deform to navigate narrow and winding passageways, while the proximal and distal portions maintain structural stability. The flexible intermediate portion acts as a hinge or articulation point.
3Productivity
If the instrument is delivered percutaneously to reach target tissue, then productivity is improved, but measurement precision and location accuracy deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The radiating tip is designed as a flexible catheter-like structure that can be delivered percutaneously through the skin and navigated through winding passageways to reach target tissue. The flexibility allows the instrument to follow the natural contours of anatomical structures while maintaining the ability to precisely locate and treat the target.
Solution Approach 2:
The flexible radiating tip can dynamically conform to the shape of passageways and tissue structures during delivery and positioning, enabling accurate placement at the target site while maintaining structural integrity for effective treatment delivery.
4Adaptability or versatility
If the radiating tip is made flexible with separate dielectric body and outer sheath, then flexibility is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The radiating tip is segmented into a dielectric body and an outer sheath as separate components. This segmentation allows independent optimization of each component's properties and simplifies manufacturing while achieving the desired flexibility through their combination.
Solution Approach 2:
The outer sheath acts as an intermediary layer that provides flexibility and protection to the dielectric body. This intermediate structure allows the radiating tip to bend and flex while protecting the internal dielectric components and maintaining structural organization.
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 enhanced flexibility enables the instrument to navigate narrow and winding passageways, reducing irradiation of healthy tissue and improving the precision and efficiency of tissue ablation, particularly in confined or hard-to-reach locations.
Implementation Method 1
Water molecules have a permanent electric dipole moment, meaning that a charge imbalance exists across the molecule. This charge imbalance causes the molecules to move in response to the forces generated by application of a time varying electric field as the molecules rotate to align their electric dipole moment with the polarity of the applied field. At microwave frequencies, rapid molecular oscillations result in frictional heating and consequential dissipation of the field energy in the form of heat.
Implementation Method 2
This principle is harnessed in microwave ablation therapies, where water molecules in target tissue are rapidly heated by application of a localised electromagnetic field at microwave frequencies, resulting in tissue coagulation and cell death.
Implementation Method 3
The method of cutting using RF energy operates based on the principle that as an electric current passes through a tissue matrix (aided by the ionic contents of the cells, i.e. sodium and potassium), the impedance to the flow of electrons across the tissue generates heat. When a pure sine wave is applied to the tissue matrix, enough heat is generated within the cells to vaporise the water content of the tissue.
Data Source
AI summary
An electrosurgical instrument having a radiating tip with enhanced flexibility. In a first aspect, this is achieved by shaping the dielectric material in the radiating tip to facilitate bending of the radiating tip. In a second aspect, this is achieved by forming a dielectric body and outer sheath of the radiating tip as separate parts, to enable movement and flexure between the parts. By improving the flexibility of the radiating tip, manoeuvrability of the electrosurgical instrument may be improved.