Snare Loop Stability via Magnetic Field Orientation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional snare devices used in medical procedures tend to twist and deform, reducing their ability to effectively ensnare tissue due to instability and torsional issues when engaging and retracting tissue.
Innovation Solution
The design incorporates a snare device with magnetic material and a magnet to maintain the snare loop in a single plane, preventing twisting and deformation by using magnetic attraction to keep the legs of the snare device in an open configuration, and includes structural features like space occupiers and inserts to limit movement and maintain the snare's plane.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If conventional snare devices are used for tissue resection, then the device can engage tissue, but the snare loop twists and deforms reducing its ability to effectively ensnare tissue
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces conventional mechanical constraints with a magnetic field-based system. Magnets are positioned within the insertion device to generate magnetic forces that act on the snare loop, maintaining its planar configuration and preventing twisting without mechanical contact or physical constraints that would interfere with deployment.
Solution Approach 2:
The magnetic field serves as an intermediary between the insertion device and the snare loop. The magnets within the insertion device create a magnetic field that interacts with the snare loop material, providing stabilizing forces that maintain the loop's integrity without direct mechanical connection.
2Adaptability or versatility
If the snare loop is made flexible to engage tissue, then tissue grasping is improved, but the snare twists about itself away from the tissue plane
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the physical state or properties of the snare loop by introducing magnetic interactions. The magnetic forces alter the effective stiffness and spatial configuration of the loop, maintaining its planar shape while allowing the necessary flexibility for tissue engagement through controlled magnetic field interactions.
3Ease of operation
If the snare device structure is simplified for ease of use, then operational simplicity is improved, but control over snare loop configuration is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The snare loop system becomes self-stabilizing through magnetic forces. The magnets within the insertion device automatically maintain the loop's planar configuration without requiring complex mechanical guidance structures or precise manufacturing tolerances, allowing the system to self-correct deviations from the desired configuration.
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
This configuration enhances the snare's ability to engage and collect tissue effectively by preventing twisting and maintaining the snare loop in a stable plane, improving the device's efficiency in resecting and grasping tissue.
Implementation Method 1
magnetic material disposed along at least a portion of each leg. Additionally, the device may include a magnet configured to cooperate with the magnetic material so as to maintain the legs in an open snare loop configuration
Data Source
AI summary
A medical device may include an insertion device having a proximal end, a distal end, and a lumen extending therethrough. A snare device may be configured to transition between a retracted state within the lumen of the insertion device, and an extended state extending distally of the insertion device. The snare device may comprise a wire. A member may be disposed within the lumen of the insertion device. The member may be configured to maintain legs of the snare device in an open snare loop configuration in the extended state. In the open snare loop configuration, the wire may include an arcuate loop.