Endoscopic Retrieval Net with Shortened Tether
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing endoscopic retrieval devices face difficulties in net movement during deployment and retrieval, often resulting in jamming or damage, and are costly due to complex tether mechanisms and assembly requirements, making them challenging to use and expensive to manufacture.
Innovation Solution
A surgical device with a support unit and a tissue retrieving net system featuring a wire-like resilient loop, a net deployment and retrieval assembly, and a net actuator system with spaced connectors to secure the net, allowing for easy deployment and retraction without additional tethers, reducing cable loop length and material costs.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a full length tether with heat shrink operation is used to secure the net, then the net can be retained on the cable loop, but the material cost and labor assembly cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts and eliminates the unnecessary full-length tether and heat shrink operation from the device. Instead, it uses a shortened tether that only needs to secure the net at the distal end, significantly reducing material costs and assembly complexity while maintaining reliable net retention during deployment and retrieval
Solution Approach 2:
The patent employs a disposable, inexpensive tether that is sufficient for its intended function of securing the net during the procedure. This short-living component is designed to be replaced with each use, eliminating the need for expensive, complex, reusable tether mechanisms with heat shrink operations
2Ease of operation
If the ring is used to pull the net inside the shaft when the net is bundled up, then the net can be packed, but the net may jam or damage the tubing causing permanent malfunction
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies preliminary action by pre-securing the net to the cable loop at the distal end using a shortened tether before the net is deployed. This preliminary securing prevents the net from becoming loose or misaligned during retrieval, eliminating the need for clinicians to forcefully pull bundled nets and preventing jamming or tubing damage
Solution Approach 2:
The shortened tether acts as a cushioning mechanism that absorbs and distributes the forces during net retrieval and packing. By providing this protective element in advance, the design prevents the harmful forces that would otherwise jam the net or damage the tubing, ensuring reliable device operation
3Volume of moving object
If the net is made compact to pass through the instrument channel, then the device can access the subject, but the net movement during deployment and retrieval becomes restricted
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies the nesting principle by collapsing the net within a compact delivery catheter for insertion through the instrument channel. Once positioned, the net is deployed outward from the catheter, allowing full expansion for tissue retrieval. The shortened tether secures the net to the cable loop, ensuring smooth movement during deployment and retrieval without the restrictions caused by excessive compactness
Solution Approach 2:
The patent employs dynamics by designing the net to transition from a compact, constrained state during delivery to an expanded, mobile state during operation. The shortened tether provides appropriate constraint during delivery while allowing freedom of movement during deployment and retrieval, adapting the net's mobility to the operational requirements at each stage
Data Source
AI summary
An endoscopic surgical device for retrieving severed tissue or foreign bodies from within a subject is disclosed. The device comprises a support unit and a tissue retrieving net system. The net system is carried by the support unit and may be inserted into the subject through an orifice or small incision and operated to retrieve tissue that has been severed by a conventional method. The net system comprises a net, a net actuator, a net deployment and retrieval assembly for transmitting motion between the net and its actuator. The net system further comprises at least one net connector disposed such that only one connector is within an articulation zone, defined by locations of severe bending of the device during operation.