Shape-Memory Suture Needle for Endoscopic Passage
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current endoscopic suturing devices are limited by the inability to effectively pass a rigid needle through a flexible endoscope's working channel while maintaining the necessary rigidity for suturing, and they fail to address the challenges of grasping the needle and attaching suture threads, particularly in morbidly obese patients undergoing bariatric surgery.
Innovation Solution
A suturing assembly featuring a suture needle made of a temperature-sensitive or shape-memory material like Nitinol, which can be heated to assume a rigid arcuate configuration for suturing and cooled to become malleable for passage through the endoscope, combined with a tubular member and push rod system for precise control and thread management, allowing for efficient suturing within the body using a push-pull motion.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Strength
If a rigid needle is used for suturing, then the needle can maintain its shape and provide precise suturing control, but it cannot be passed through the flexible endoscope's working channel
Solution Approach 1:
The needle is made of shape-memory material that can change its physical state between rigid and flexible forms. By controlling temperature or other parameters, the needle transitions from a flexible state (for passage through the endoscope) to a rigid state (for precise suturing), resolving the contradiction between rigidity and flexibility.
Solution Approach 2:
The needle's rigidity is not fixed but dynamic, allowing it to adapt its mechanical properties based on operational requirements. The needle remains flexible during insertion and becomes rigid during suturing, enabling both easy passage through the endoscope and precise control during the surgical procedure.
2Ease of operation
If a flexible needle is used to pass through the endoscope, then it can be easily inserted, but it cannot maintain the necessary rigidity for effective suturing
Solution Approach 1:
The shape-memory material allows the needle to exist in different physical states. During insertion, the needle maintains a flexible, compressed state that easily passes through the endoscope. Upon deployment, environmental changes (temperature, stress) trigger a transition to a rigid, functional state suitable for suturing.
Solution Approach 2:
The needle transforms from a passive, flexible configuration during delivery to an active, rigid configuration during use. This dynamic transformation enables the needle to satisfy both contradictory requirements: flexibility for insertion and rigidity for suturing performance.
3Reliability
If traditional suturing methods are used, then reliable tissue closure is achieved, but the procedure requires large incisions and lengthy hospital stays
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces traditional mechanical suturing through large incisions with a minimally invasive endoscopic approach. The needle delivery system uses a catheter-based mechanism that can be inserted through small punctures, substituting the need for large surgical incisions while maintaining suturing functionality.
Solution Approach 2:
The suturing procedure is segmented into distinct phases: needle compression within the catheter, selective deployment at the target site, and controlled retrieval. This segmentation allows the procedure to be performed through minimal access points, reducing trauma and hospital stay while maintaining closure reliability.
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 solution enables minimally invasive suturing procedures with reduced complexity and duration, decreasing morbidity and mortality, shortening hospital stays, and reducing postoperative pain, while maintaining the precision and reliability of traditional suturing methods.
Implementation Method 1
The needle (16) is made of a shape memory material and is in a malleable state when introduced into the patient and in a rigid state when making stitches
Implementation Method 2
The needle (16) is made of a superelastic material and is in a deformed state when introduced into the patient and in an undeformed state when making stitches
Data Source
AI summary
A hollow suture needle and related suturing assembly to be used in conjunction with flexible or rigid endoscopy, or on the external surface of the body. The invention relates to performing suturing on internal body tissue as part of a surgical procedure, or on external body tissues. The suturing assembly includes a hollow suture needle which in one preferred embodiment is temperature biased, with associated suturing assembly and an associated method for performing the suturing function.