Real-Time Needle Sampling With Protected Stylet Withdrawal
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing methods for collecting samples from within a body, such as biopsies, often require invasive procedures and lack efficient mechanisms for deploying and controlling elongated instruments to target and retrieve tissue samples without damaging them.
Innovation Solution
A control system for elongated instruments that includes a coupling with sealing members to secure and guide the instruments through insertion devices, anti-buckling devices for support, and mechanisms to control the advancement and orientation of sampling needles, ensuring fluid containment and precise sample collection.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If elongated instruments are conveyed to target location through insertion devices, then minimally invasive sampling is enabled, but the instruments lack support and protection during deployment
Solution Approach 1:
The system divides the elongated instrument into separable components including a distal end for tissue interaction and a proximal end for control, allowing independent optimization of each segment's function and protection mechanisms
Solution Approach 2:
A coupling device with sealing members acts as an intermediary between the control device and insertion device, providing mechanical support and fluid sealing to protect the elongated instrument during deployment while enabling minimally invasive access
2Reliability
If sealing members are added to secure and guide instruments, then fluid containment is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The coupling device merges multiple functions including mechanical support, fluid sealing, and instrument guidance into a single integrated component, reducing overall system complexity while maintaining reliable fluid containment
Solution Approach 2:
The sealing members are designed to perform multiple functions simultaneously: sealing fluid pathways, guiding instrument movement, and providing structural support, thereby reducing the need for separate dedicated components
Data Source
AI summary
Disclosed embodiments include apparatuses, systems, and methods for engaging a stylet within a needle. In an illustrative embodiment, an apparatus includes a stylet configured to be insertable into a lumen of a needle via a proximal port of secured to a needle actuator secured to the needle; and an end cap fixably coupled to the stylet and configured to cover a proximal end of the needle actuator and to be movable relative to the needle actuator to enable an operator to withdraw the stylet from the lumen.