Medical Manipulator Bending Structure for Kink-Resistant Insertion
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing medical manipulators for observing or treating hollow organs face challenges in providing efficient insertion, maneuverability, and treatment capabilities due to limitations in kink-resistance, torque transmissivity, and pushability, particularly in the context of endoscopic procedures.
Innovation Solution
The development of an electric endoscope system with a manipulator featuring a bending portion composed of joint rings and a bending wire system, along with a first channel tube with a large diameter, enhances kink-resistance, torque transmissivity, and pushability, allowing for improved maneuverability and treatment capabilities.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a medical manipulator uses a conventional structure for insertion and observation, then the basic function is achieved, but kink-resistance, torque transmissivity, and pushability are insufficient
Solution Approach 1:
The manipulator is divided into multiple bending portions, each with joint rings and bending wires, allowing independent control of different sections. This segmentation enables the manipulator to achieve complex movements while maintaining structural integrity and resistance to kinking.
Solution Approach 2:
The manipulator employs composite construction with outer sheaths, joint rings, and bending wires made of different materials optimized for specific properties such as flexibility, strength, and torque transmission, thereby improving overall reliability without excessive complexity.
2Reliability
If a medical manipulator uses a conventional structure for insertion and observation, then the basic function is achieved, but torque transmissivity is insufficient
Solution Approach 1:
The bending portion is segmented into joint rings with bending wires that can be independently controlled, allowing torque to be transmitted efficiently from the proximal to distal end while maintaining the ability to bend at controlled locations.
Solution Approach 2:
The manipulator design allows for adjustment of bending wire tension and joint ring configuration to optimize torque transmission characteristics based on procedural requirements, improving reliability without fixed structural complexity.
3Reliability
If a medical manipulator uses a conventional structure for insertion and observation, then the basic function is achieved, but pushability is insufficient
Solution Approach 1:
The manipulator is divided into modular sections with defined bending portions and straight sections, allowing the operator to maintain pushability in non-bent sections while achieving necessary bends in controlled portions, thereby improving overall pushability without excessive complexity.
4Adaptability or versatility
If the camera unit is fixed at the distal end of the manipulator, then the structure is simple, but observation flexibility and treatment capability are limited
Solution Approach 1:
The camera unit is made movable relative to the manipulator body, allowing dynamic adjustment of camera position and angle during procedures. This enables flexible observation of different areas and improves adaptability for various treatment configurations without requiring complete structural redesign.
Solution Approach 2:
The movable camera unit can be positioned to serve multiple functions including forward viewing, lateral viewing, and angled observation, making it universally applicable for different procedural needs while maintaining a relatively simple overall structure.
Data Source
AI summary
A medical manipulator includes: a manipulator; and a camera unit provided at a distal end of the manipulator so as to be movable back and forth in a longitudinal direction, and the camera unit includes a support portion, and a camera provided at a distal end side of the support portion, and the camera unit includes a first state in which the camera unit advances relative to the manipulator, a second state in which the camera unit retracts relative to the manipulator, and a third state in which the camera unit bends downward.