Slotted Delivery Cannula for Site Marker Deployment
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing site markers and delivery systems face issues with sterilization compatibility, as the elastic deformation of filament portions can convert to plastic deformation due to heat, leading to inadequate expansion and potential migration within the biopsy cavity.
Innovation Solution
A delivery cannula with slots of predetermined width is used to accommodate and deploy site markers, allowing filament members to extend and expand properly after sterilization, ensuring accurate placement and preventing migration.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the site marker is compressed into the delivery cannula for sterilization, then the site marker can be sterilized properly, but the elastic deformation converts to plastic deformation causing inadequate expansion after deployment
Solution Approach 1:
The delivery cannula is divided into multiple segments including a body portion and a deployment portion with slots. This segmentation allows the site marker to be compressed for sterilization while providing structured pathways (slots) that guide proper expansion after deployment, resolving the contradiction between sterilization compatibility and expansion accuracy.
Solution Approach 2:
The slots are pre-formed in the delivery cannula before sterilization. This preliminary action ensures that when the site marker is deployed after sterilization, the pre-existing slots guide the filaments to expand properly, preventing the conversion of elastic deformation to plastic deformation and maintaining expansion accuracy.
2Ease of operation
If the filament portions are elastically deformed to fit within the cannula, then the site marker can be delivered through the cannula, but the filaments may not properly expand upon exiting due to heat-induced plastic deformation
Solution Approach 1:
The slots in the delivery cannula act as intermediaries between the compressed site marker and the deployment environment. These slots provide a controlled pathway that allows filaments to pass through during delivery while guiding their proper expansion after deployment, mediating between the need for compression and the need for reliable expansion.
Solution Approach 2:
The delivery cannula has different structural qualities at different locations: the body portion provides containment for sterilization, while the deployment portion with slots provides guided expansion. This local quality differentiation allows the system to achieve both deliverability and expansion reliability.
3Reliability
If the site marker diameter is greater than the cannula outer diameter, then the site marker can expand to prevent migration, but the site marker cannot be inserted into the cannula without compression
Solution Approach 1:
The site marker is designed with dynamic properties, being elastically deformable to allow compression for insertion into the cannula. After deployment, the elastic recovery provides the expansion needed for position stability. The slots in the cannula guide this dynamic transition from compressed to expanded state.
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 solution ensures site markers expand correctly post-sterilization, maintaining their position within the biopsy cavity and preventing migration, thus serving as effective landmarks for precise surgical or radiation treatment.
Implementation Method 1
the site marker is compressed (at least partially elastically deformed) to a dimension that will permit the site marker to be interposed within the delivery cannula
Implementation Method 2
the elastically deformed filament portions, or other materials, plastically deform within the cannula due to the heat of sterilization (essentially converting some of the elastic deformation to plastic deformation)
Implementation Method 3
the elastically deformed filament portions, or other materials, plastically deform within the cannula due to the heat of sterilization
Implementation Method 4
the site marker will expand as the filament portions exit the cannula in reaction to the elastic deformation
Data Source
AI summary
A delivery cannula for a site marker deployment device is disclosed. The delivery cannula includes a cannula having a tubular sidewall and at least one slot intersecting through the side wall. Each slot is sized to have a predetermined width so as to be configured to receive at least one filament of a site marker. When the site marker is inserted into the delivery cannula, at least a portion of the filament extends outwardly from the cannula and through the slot. A deployment system is also disclosed.