Soft-Tip Endoscopic Cannula for Selective Bile Duct Access
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current endoscopic tools face challenges in accurately accessing and removing impacted food or polyps within the gastrointestinal tract, and in selectively cannulating the common bile duct during ERCP procedures without damaging adjacent ducts like the pancreatic duct.
Innovation Solution
An endoscopic tool with a manipulatable distal end featuring a filament connection, flexible grasping jaws, and a soft tip, allowing precise control and minimization of tissue damage, enables improved access and manipulation within body cavities, and facilitates selective cannulation of the common bile duct.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If regular snares are used for food removal, then the procedure can be performed with standard tools, but the process becomes laborious and may cause damage to surrounding tissues
Solution Approach 1:
The snare is designed with a shape memory alloy that allows it to dynamically change its configuration from a compressed delivery state to an expanded functional state at the distal end, enabling automatic expansion upon deployment to grasp and remove food bolus without manual manipulation
Solution Approach 2:
The shape memory alloy filament automatically expands the snare loop at the distal end when exposed to body temperature, eliminating the need for manual manipulation by the operator and reducing the laborious nature of the procedure while maintaining control through the delivery catheter
2Ease of manufacture
If known instruments are used for selective cannulation, then the procedure can be performed with existing tools, but the ability to direct the cannula at the proper angle is limited, leading to complications
Solution Approach 1:
The catheter incorporates a shape memory alloy section that can be dynamically reconfigured from a straight delivery configuration to an angled functional configuration at the distal end, allowing the operator to selectively direct the cannula at the proper angle toward the common bile duct while maintaining control during insertion
Solution Approach 2:
The shape memory alloy changes its physical parameters (shape and angle) in response to temperature changes in the body, automatically adjusting the distal end orientation to achieve the necessary angle for selective cannulation of the common bile duct without damaging adjacent structures
3Ease of operation
If controls at the proximal end are used to manipulate the distal tip, then some control is achieved, but the control is modest and requires laborious trial and error effort
Solution Approach 1:
The shape memory alloy filament automatically performs the positioning function at the distal end by expanding and orienting itself in response to body temperature, eliminating the need for manual manipulation and trial-and-error positioning by the operator while maintaining proximal control for overall navigation
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
Enhances the ability to quickly and accurately remove obstructions and perform cannulation procedures with reduced risk of tissue damage and complications.
Implementation Method 1
The instrument may have a flexible end with a snare disposed within a tubular lumen of the tool. The tubular lumen may have a soft tip extending distally from the tubular lumen
Implementation Method 2
A spring-like resilience may act to pull the instrument back into place after being pulled by a highly flexible filament into an arcuate shape
Data Source
AI summary
An endoscopic tool comprises a manipulator coupled to a distal instrument via a filament or filaments such that the instrument is directed transversely to the longitudinal axis of the endoscope. For example, a snare, wire or cannula extends transversely from a tubular lumen of the tool. The distal instrument may comprise grasping jaws, and a surface of the grasping jaws may be of an elastomeric polymer.