Separable Endoscopic Operative Tip for Tissue Resection
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current endoscopic procedures face challenges in accurately and minimally invasively removing dysplastic tissue due to limitations in instrument size and control, leading to complications like perforation and incomplete resection, especially with sessile colonic polyps and esophageal lesions, where existing instruments are too large for the endoscope's working channel and lack precise depth and breadth control.
Innovation Solution
An endoscopic instrument assembly with a separable operative tip, such as a cauterizing cutter or needle, that can be extended through the endoscope's working channel, allowing for precise tissue removal and ablation while minimizing the risk of perforation, using a pivotable or articulable design to maintain control and visibility during procedures.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If a larger operative tip is used to remove dysplastic tissue, then the effectiveness of tissue removal is improved, but the risk of perforation increases
Solution Approach 1:
The instrument assembly is divided into separable components: an endoscope shaft and a detachable operative tip. The operative tip can be separated from the shaft after insertion, allowing the tip to be larger and more effective for tissue removal while the shaft remains within the safe size limits of the endoscope working channel. This segmentation resolves the contradiction by enabling the operative tip to have sufficient size for effective resection without increasing the overall instrument size that could cause perforation.
Solution Approach 2:
The operative tip is inserted into and nested within the endoscope shaft during the insertion phase. The tip is positioned within the working channel of the endoscope, allowing it to be protected and guided through the gastrointestinal tract. After insertion, the tip is detached and can be used independently for tissue removal. This nesting approach allows the tip to be larger than the working channel would normally permit while maintaining safe insertion characteristics.
2Manufacturing precision
If a larger operative tip is used for tissue removal, then the completeness of resection is improved, but the instrument becomes too large to pass through the endoscope's working channel
Solution Approach 1:
The instrument assembly is divided into separable components: an endoscope shaft and a detachable operative tip. The operative tip can be separated from the shaft after insertion, allowing the tip to be larger and more effective for tissue removal while the shaft remains within the safe size limits of the endoscope working channel. This segmentation resolves the contradiction by enabling the operative tip to have sufficient size for effective resection without increasing the overall instrument size that could cause perforation.
Solution Approach 2:
The instrument assembly transitions from a static, fixed-size configuration during insertion to a dynamic, separable configuration during operation. The operative tip is initially constrained within the shaft during insertion, then can be detached and used independently. This dynamic approach allows the tip to be larger than the working channel would normally permit while maintaining safe insertion characteristics.
3Ease of operation
If existing endoscopic instruments are used, then the procedure remains minimally invasive, but the instruments lack precise control over depth and breadth of tissue removal
Solution Approach 1:
The instrument assembly is divided into separable components: an endoscope shaft and a detachable operative tip. The operative tip can be separated from the shaft after insertion, allowing the tip to be larger and more effective for tissue removal while the shaft remains within the safe size limits of the endoscope working channel. This segmentation resolves the contradiction by enabling the operative tip to have sufficient size for effective resection without increasing the overall instrument size that could cause perforation.
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
Enables accurate and controlled removal of dysplastic tissue with reduced risk of organ perforation and improved procedural safety, allowing for more effective treatment of esophageal and colonic lesions while maintaining a minimally invasive approach.
Implementation Method 1
Where the arcuate element is a cauterizing cutter made of an electrically conductive material, the instrument shaft includes an electrical conductor operatively coupled to the arcuate element.
Implementation Method 2
The operative tip may include an arcuate wire element, such as a cutting and/or cauterizing wire
Data Source
AI summary
In an insertion configuration, an endoscope assembly includes an insertion member with a distal end face and a working channel and further includes an instrument shaft extending through the working channel and an operative tip connected to the instrument shaft and extending in a plane oriented perpendicularly to the instrument shaft. The operative tip is positioned along the distal end face of the endoscope insertion member. The operative tip is separable from the distal end face of the endoscope insertion member by a distally directed motion of the instrument shaft along the working channel.