Telescoping Link Assembly for Controlled Endoscope Deployment
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Solution Overview
Problem
Managing and controlling elongate, flexible medical instruments such as endoscopes, catheters, and guidewires in crowded operating rooms is challenging due to their unwieldy nature, particularly for robotic systems, necessitating improved methods and apparatuses for storage, deployment, and operation.
Innovation Solution
A telescoping platform with a vertically arranged link assembly and a synchronization belt system allows for bidirectional extension and retraction of flexible tubular members, including endoscopes and overtubes, providing compact storage and efficient operation, with separate mounting regions for inner and outer components, and integrated control through a robotic drive system.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Length of moving object
If elongate flexible medical instruments are used to access deep anatomical sites, then diagnostic and therapeutic capabilities are improved, but device management and control become increasingly unwieldy and difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The flexible tubular member is divided into multiple segments that can articulate relative to each other. The instrument includes a proximal segment, intermediate segment, and distal segment with articulation joints between them, allowing the long instrument to be controlled in sections rather than as a single unwieldy unit.
Solution Approach 2:
The instrument incorporates articulation joints that allow dynamic bending and steering of the flexible tubular member. The distal segment can be articulated relative to the proximal segment, enabling the operator to navigate the instrument through complex anatomical pathways and improve control over the distal tip position.
2Length of moving object
If the length of flexible tubular members is increased to reach deeper anatomical targets, then access to remote sites is improved, but navigation and control precision deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The endoscope is segmented into multiple controllable sections with articulation joints. Each segment can be independently positioned and oriented, allowing precise control of the distal tip even when the overall instrument length is extended to reach deep anatomical targets.
Solution Approach 2:
The articulation joints provide dynamic steering capability along the length of the endoscope. By articulating different segments at different angles, the operator can precisely navigate the distal tip to specific locations within the gastrointestinal tract while maintaining control over the overall instrument configuration.
3Adaptability or versatility
If multiple elongate instruments are used simultaneously for complex procedures, then functional versatility is improved, but device management in crowded operating rooms becomes more challenging
Solution Approach 1:
The system combines multiple functional capabilities into a single integrated endoscope assembly. The endoscope integrates imaging, illumination, and articulated steering in one device, reducing the need for separate instruments and simplifying management in the operating room while maintaining procedural versatility.
Solution Approach 2:
The endoscope is designed as a multi-functional instrument that can perform diagnostic imaging, therapeutic interventions, and navigation through complex anatomy. The articulated design allows a single device to access and manipulate structures that would otherwise require multiple specialized instruments.
Data Source
AI summary
Apparatuses and methods for deploying and/or controlling movement of flexible tubular members such as endoscopes, using a sliding link assembly to support the flexible tubular member. For example, these apparatuses may include a base, a link assembly connected to the base and comprising: a plurality of links that are vertically adjacent to each other, in which adjacent pairs of links are each slidably coupled together by opposing flexible bands that extend around a cylindrical surface of a shuttle. A linear drive may drive extension and retraction of the links by engaging with just one shuttle of the link assembly.