Scope Valve Assembly for In-Place Suction Channel Unblocking
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Solution Overview
Problem
Medical devices such as scopes and sheaths often experience blockages in the suction channel due to lodged materials, which require removal from the patient to clear, prolonging procedures and increasing risk.
Innovation Solution
A medical device with a handle and valve assembly featuring a movable inner body within an outer body, allowing transition between configurations to switch fluid and suction paths without disconnecting sources, facilitating blockage removal by fluid flow through the suction channel.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the medical device is removed from the patient's body to clear blockages, then the blockages can be cleared from the suction channel, but the procedure duration increases and patient risk increases
Solution Approach 1:
The device enables self-service by allowing the operator to clear blockages from the suction channel while the device remains in place. The valve assembly can be reconfigured to reverse fluid flow through the suction channel, enabling the operator to flush out blockages without removing the device from the patient's body, thus maintaining continuous operation and reducing procedure time.
Solution Approach 2:
The valve assembly is designed with dynamic reconfigurability, allowing transition between different fluid flow configurations. The inner body can be moved relative to the outer body to switch between normal suction mode and blockage clearing mode, enabling the device to adapt its function during operation without removal from the patient.
2Productivity
If the valve assembly allows fluid flow through the suction channel, then blockages can be cleared without disconnection, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The valve assembly serves multiple functions: it controls fluid delivery through the first conduit, manages aspiration through the second conduit, and enables blockage clearing by reversing flow through the suction channel. This multi-functionality is achieved through a compact design where the inner body with its lumens and the outer body with fluidics channels work together to provide various flow paths without requiring separate components for each function.
Solution Approach 2:
The valve assembly employs a nested structure where the inner body is positioned within the outer body. The inner body contains lumens that align with fluidics channels in the outer body to create complete flow paths. This nested arrangement allows complex multi-path fluid control in a compact configuration, reducing overall device complexity while maintaining continuous operation capability.
Data Source
AI summary
Medical devices and systems are described, including a medical device including a handle with a first conduit and a second conduit each coupled to a valve assembly. The valve assembly includes an inner body movable within an outer body between a first configuration and a second configuration. The outer body includes a first fluidics channel adjacent to a third fluidics channel on a first side, and a second fluidics channel adjacent to a fourth fluidics channel on a second side, opposite the first side. In the first configuration, the first and second fluidics channels and the first conduit are in communication, and the third and fourth fluidics channels and the second conduit are in communication. In the second configuration, the first and third fluidics channels and the first conduit are in communication, and the second and fourth fluidics channels and the second conduit are in communication.