Steerable Laser Probe for Laryngeal Surgery
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional endoscopic instruments, particularly those used in laryngeal laser surgery for conditions like Recurrent Respiratory Papillomatosis, are rigid and limited in diameter, making it difficult to access and treat tumors in irregular internal regions with line-of-sight visibility constraints, necessitating frequent and costly inpatient surgeries.
Innovation Solution
A miniaturized steerable laser probe with an articulating tip responsive to retractable tether forces, designed to fit within a 2 mm working channel of an endoscope, allowing for flexible and controlled movement to reach surgical targets, combining a nickel titanium tube with concentric notched sections and nitinol wire for articulation and laser delivery.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If conventional rigid endoscopic instruments are used, then structural strength and stability are maintained, but the ability to access irregular internal regions and hard-to-reach anatomical locations is limited
Solution Approach 1:
The probe is divided into multiple articulated segments that can bend and flex relative to each other, allowing the distal end to navigate irregular anatomical regions while the proximal end maintains structural stability for control and force application
Solution Approach 2:
The probe employs a flexible construction with articulating sections that can bend and conform to irregular internal regions, enabling access to hard-to-reach anatomical locations while maintaining sufficient structural integrity through controlled flexibility
2Area of moving object
If the endoscope diameter is reduced to fit narrow working channels, then access to constrained surgical regions is improved, but the available surgical devices and their functionality are restricted
Solution Approach 1:
The surgical probe is segmented into multiple articulated sections, allowing it to maintain a compact profile for narrow channel insertion while providing multiple degrees of freedom for versatile positioning and surgical manipulation at the distal end
Solution Approach 2:
The probe transitions from a static rigid structure to a dynamic articulated system that can change its configuration in real-time, enabling it to adapt its shape and orientation to access various surgical targets within constrained anatomical regions
3Ease of operation
If rigid endoscopic instruments are used in cavitated areas with tissue protrusions, then ease of control is maintained, but line-of-sight visibility constraints and difficulty in intervening in surgical regions increase
Solution Approach 1:
The articulated probe can dynamically adjust its orientation and bending angle to navigate around tissue protrusions and recesses, maintaining line-of-sight visibility to surgical targets that are obscured from fixed rigid instrument positions
Solution Approach 2:
The probe changes its geometric parameters (bending angle, orientation, position) in real-time to adapt to the complex three-dimensional anatomy of cavitated regions, enabling the operator to maintain visual contact with surgical targets despite tissue obstructions
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 office-based management of recurrent laryngeal diseases by providing precise laser intervention and illumination, reducing the need for repeated inpatient surgeries and improving access to hard-to-reach anatomical locations.
Implementation Method 1
The articulating tip may be formed from a nickel titanium tube having concentric notched sections partially removed to form an attachment between the sections
Implementation Method 2
The transfer tube includes coiled or braided polymer or plastic fibers reinforced with nitinol wire
Implementation Method 3
a laser fiber extends through the lumen and is adapted for delivering a therapeutic laser signal to a treatment probe
Data Source
AI summary
An articulating, steerable surgical probe includes an elongated, flexible transfer tube adapted for insertion into a surgical region for endoscopic laryngeal laser surgery. A lumen is defined by an interior of the transfer tube, and a laser fiber extends through the lumen for delivering a therapeutic laser signal to a distal end of the laser fiber. An articulating tip at the distal end of the transfer tube is responsive to articulating forces from a retractable tether for directing the treatment probe in a direction of the articulation, and a linkage to the tether from a control module effects controlled retraction of the tether for articulating the tip towards a surgical target, such that the articulating tip imposing a bend radius based on a signal loss through the laser fiber.