Thoracostomy Device Guide Channel for Chest Tube Placement
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current thoracostomy procedures have a high complication rate ranging from 20-35%, primarily due to insertional, positional, and post-removal errors, which increase costs and compromise patient care.
Innovation Solution
A handheld thoracostomy device with a handle and insertion portion featuring a linear and curved terminal design, including a continuous channel to guide and secure a chest tube during insertion and placement, thereby reducing errors and improving placement accuracy.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If traditional manual thoracostomy procedures are performed, then physicians have flexibility in technique, but complication rates increase to 20-35% due to insertional, positional, and post-removal errors
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a specialized insertion device as an intermediary tool between the physician and the chest tube. This device includes a guide mechanism with aligned openings that directs the tube along a predetermined safe path through the chest wall, reducing insertional errors and improving placement accuracy while maintaining procedural flexibility
Solution Approach 2:
The device pre-establishes a correct insertion trajectory through its guide structure with multiple aligned openings before the actual tube insertion occurs. This preliminary guidance path prevents positional errors and ensures the tube follows the intended route, reducing complications from incorrect placement
2Measurement precision
If chest tubes are inserted using conventional methods, then the procedure can be performed with basic equipment, but positional errors such as kinking and incorrect placement occur in nearly 70% of complications
Solution Approach 1:
The guide device acts as an intermediary that physically constrains and directs the chest tube along a predetermined trajectory. The guide mechanism with its series of aligned openings ensures the tube maintains correct positioning and prevents kinking, significantly improving placement accuracy while adding controlled complexity to the insertion process
Solution Approach 2:
The guide device is segmented into multiple sections with individual openings at different angles and positions. This segmentation allows the tube to follow a step-by-step predetermined path through tissue layers, ensuring accurate positioning at each stage and preventing positional errors that occur with single-step insertion methods
3Ease of manufacture
If manual insertion techniques are used, then the procedure is simple to perform, but insertional errors result in costs 21 times higher than normal procedures
Solution Approach 1:
The specialized insertion device serves as an intermediary tool that maintains ease of use through its ergonomic design and intuitive operation, while simultaneously providing precise guidance to eliminate insertional errors. The device requires minimal training to operate correctly, preserving procedural simplicity while dramatically improving insertion accuracy and reducing associated costs
Data Source
AI summary
A thoracostomy device that may be used for the placement of a chest tube is disclosed. The thoracostomy device is adapted to be extended into an incision in a patient, and comprises: (a) a handle portion; (b) an insertion portion extending from the handle portion, and having a linear portion and a curved terminal portion, the insertion portion having opposed substantially continuous first inner and second outer lateral surfaces, the device defining a central axis extending therethrough; and (c) a continuous channel extending through the handle and insertion portions and open to the first inner lateral surface, the channel having a medial axis offset from and parallel to the central axis, the channel adapted to guide a tube along the central axis while being adapted to allow a tube to be removed laterally of the channel. The present invention also includes a method of preparing a chest tube for insertion and for inserting a chest tube such as through the use any of the devices of the present invention.