Steerable Laser Probe With Variable Stiffness Housing
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current ophthalmic surgical instruments lack the ability to easily and accurately steer a laser beam to multiple targets within the eye during procedures like photocoagulation, which is crucial for effective treatment of conditions such as proliferative retinopathy.
Innovation Solution
A steerable laser probe comprising a handle, an actuation structure, and a housing tube with varying stiffness sections, allowing the optic fiber to curve and straighten in response to compression and decompression, enabling precise directional control of the laser beam.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Stability of the object's composition
If the laser probe is made rigid to maintain stable positioning, then positioning stability is improved, but the ability to steer the laser beam to multiple targets is worsened
Solution Approach 1:
The housing tube is divided into multiple sections with different stiffness characteristics. The first housing tube portion has a first stiffness while the second housing tube portion has a second stiffness greater than the first stiffness. This segmentation allows different portions of the probe to exhibit different mechanical properties, enabling the distal end to be steerable while maintaining overall structural stability.
Solution Approach 2:
Different portions of the housing tube are given different local mechanical properties through varying stiffness. The first housing tube portion is designed with lower stiffness to allow curving and steering, while the second housing tube portion has higher stiffness to maintain positioning stability. This local quality differentiation resolves the contradiction between steerability and stability.
2Adaptability or versatility
If the probe length within the eye is increased to reach multiple targets, then accessibility to multiple targets is improved, but the risk of damage to ocular structures is worsened
Solution Approach 1:
The housing tube is designed to be dynamically configurable between straight and curved states through the actuation structure. This allows the probe to reach multiple targets by changing its shape rather than by increasing its length, thereby maintaining a short probe length within the eye while improving accessibility to different retinal locations.
Solution Approach 2:
The probe utilizes changes in the curvature parameter of the housing tube to achieve steering. By actuating the actuation structure, the housing tube transitions between different curvature states, enabling the laser beam to be directed at multiple targets without increasing the probe's length within the ocular environment.
3Adaptability or versatility
If the housing tube is made fully flexible to enable steering, then steering capability is improved, but the structural support for precise laser positioning is worsened
Solution Approach 1:
The housing tube is segmented into portions with different stiffness characteristics. The first housing tube portion has lower stiffness to enable steering, while the second housing tube portion has higher stiffness to provide structural support. This segmentation allows the probe to simultaneously achieve both steering capability and structural support for precise laser positioning.
Solution Approach 2:
The housing tube employs composite construction with portions having different mechanical properties. The combination of softer and stiffer sections creates a composite structure that exhibits both flexibility for steering and rigidity for maintaining positioning accuracy, resolving the contradiction between steering capability and structural support.
Data Source
Figure 1A~1B
Figure 2A~2B
Figure 2C
AI summary
A steerable laser probe may include a handle, an actuation structure, an optic fiber, and a housing tube. The housing tube may include a first housing tube portion having a first stiffness and a second housing tube portion having a second stiffness. The second stiffness may be greater than the first stiffness. The optic fiber may be disposed within the housing tube and within an inner bore of the handle. A compression of the actuation structure may be configured to gradually curve the optic fiber. A decompression of the actuation structure may be configured to gradually straighten the optic fiber.