Resilient Sheet Supporting Member for Therapeutic Substance Deployment
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing medical appliances for carrying and administering sheet-shaped therapeutic substances, such as those made of biodegradable materials, face challenges in precision and ease of use due to the tendency of these substances to stick together and require advanced techniques for deployment, especially in minimally invasive surgeries, leading to high production costs and reliability issues.
Innovation Solution
A therapeutic-substance carrying/administering appliance featuring a cylindrical outer sheath with a slide member and a resilient sheet supporting element that can deform from a flat unrolled shape to a tubular shape, allowing easy retraction into the sheath and secure deployment at a transplantation site, utilizing a beveled surface and tapered portion for smooth deformation and minimizing the risk of malfunctions.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If a forceps is used to carry and administer sheet-shaped therapeutic substance, then the substance can be transported to the affected site, but the operation requires advanced techniques and the workability is poor due to the substance sticking to itself
Solution Approach 1:
The appliance divides the sheet supporting function into a dedicated resilient sheet supporting element separate from the carrying mechanism (outer sheath and slide member). This segmentation allows the therapeutic substance to be supported on a specialized element designed for easy deployment, rather than using general-purpose forceps that require advanced techniques.
Solution Approach 2:
The resilient sheet supporting element acts as an intermediary between the outer sheath and the therapeutic substance. It provides a dedicated interface for supporting and deploying the sheet-shaped substance, eliminating the need for operators to master complex forceps manipulation techniques.
2Ease of operation
If the sheet supporting member is made resilient and deformable between flat unrolled and tubular shapes, then easy retraction and deployment is achieved, but the structure becomes more complex requiring fluid channels and pressure control
Solution Approach 1:
The resilient sheet supporting element utilizes its own elastic properties to automatically deform between flat and tubular shapes. The element self-regulates its configuration through elastic recovery, eliminating the need for external fluid pressure systems to control its shape changes.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces the fluid pressure control system with a simple mechanical sliding action. The slide member's linear motion directly drives the sheet supporting element's deformation through mechanical contact, substituting complex pneumatic/hydraulic control with straightforward mechanical operation.
3Extent of automation
If minute fluid channels are provided inside the sheet supporting element for fluid circulation, then control of the element is improved, but the production cost increases and reliability decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts and eliminates the minute fluid channels from the sheet supporting element structure. By removing this complex internal fluid network, the design achieves higher reliability through fewer potential failure points while maintaining control through the simpler mechanical slide member mechanism.
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 appliance enables secure, low-invasive administration of sheet-shaped therapeutic substances with reduced production costs and improved reliability by allowing easy deployment and retraction, minimizing the risk of malfunctions and ensuring precise transplantation.
Implementation Method 1
a sheet supporting member (13), connected to a distal end of the slide member (12) and made of a resilient material, for supporting a sheet-shaped therapeutic substance (30). When the sheet supporting member (13) is held in a flat unrolled shape in a free state in which the sheet supporting member (13) projects outwardly from a distal end of the cylindrical outer sheath (11)
Data Source
AI summary
A therapeutic-substance carrying/administering appliance includes a cylindrical outer sheath; a slide member installed in the cylindrical outer sheath to be slidable therein; and a sheet supporting member, connected to a distal end of the slide member and made of a resilient material, for supporting a sheet-shaped therapeutic substance. The sheet supporting member is held in a flat unrolled shape in a free state in which the sheet supporting member projects outwardly from a distal end of the cylindrical outer sheath. When the sheet supporting member is in the free state, sliding the slide member in a retracting direction causes the sheet supporting member to contact the distal end of the cylindrical outer sheath, and subsequently further moving the slide member in the retracting direction causes the sheet supporting member to be retracted into the cylindrical outer sheath while being deformed into a tubular shape.