Non-invasive Tissue Stiffness Detection for Inflammation Activity

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Solution Overview

Problem

Current methods for detecting inflammation activity in tissues, such as liver fibrosis, are invasive and prone to sampling errors, making continuous and non-invasive monitoring challenging.

Innovation Solution

A method and device utilizing non-invasive tissue stiffness detection through transient elastography, which measures liver stiffness to assess inflammation activity, providing a quantitative evaluation based on corresponding relationships between stiffness values and inflammation severity.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Measurement precision

If liver biopsy is used to detect inflammation activity, then measurement precision is improved, but ease of operation deteriorates due to invasive nature and sampling errors

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveinflammation activity detection accuracyVSAvoidcontinuous monitoring capability

Core Design Contradiction:

Measurement precisionVSEase of operation

Solution Approach 1:

The patent replaces the mechanical invasive biopsy system with a non-invasive tissue stiffness detection system using transient elastography. This substitution eliminates the need for physical tissue sampling while providing continuous monitoring capability through repeated non-invasive measurements, thereby resolving the contradiction between measurement precision and ease of operation.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #28Mechanics substitution (Replace mechanical system)

Solution Approach 2:

The patent introduces tissue stiffness as an intermediary parameter that correlates with inflammation activity. Instead of directly measuring inflammation through invasive biopsy, the system uses tissue stiffness (measured by transient elastography) as a mediator to indirectly assess inflammation activity, enabling continuous non-invasive monitoring while maintaining diagnostic value.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

2Reliability

If liver biopsy is performed continuously to monitor inflammation activity, then reliability of detection is improved, but object-generated harmful factors worsen due to invasion and complications

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveinflammation activity detection reliabilityVSAvoidinvasion and complication risk

Core Design Contradiction:

ReliabilityVSObject-generated harmful factors

Solution Approach 1:

The patent substitutes the invasive mechanical biopsy procedure with a non-invasive transient elastography system. This replacement eliminates physical penetration into the tissue, removing the source of invasion-related harm and complications while maintaining the ability to reliably detect inflammation activity through tissue stiffness measurements.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #28Mechanics substitution (Replace mechanical system)

Solution Approach 2:

The patent enables the tissue itself to provide diagnostic information through its mechanical properties (stiffness) that can be measured non-invasively. The tissue's inherent viscoelastic characteristics serve as the diagnostic marker, eliminating the need for external invasive intervention while maintaining detection reliability.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #25Self-service

3Ease of operation

If transient elastography is used to measure tissue stiffness, then ease of operation is improved, but measurement precision deteriorates due to inflammation susceptibility

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvenon-invasive continuous monitoringVSAvoidfibrosis detection accuracy

Core Design Contradiction:

Ease of operationVSMeasurement precision

Solution Approach 1:

The patent extracts and separately analyzes the inflammation component from the tissue stiffness measurement. By identifying and removing the inflammation-related stiffness contribution from the total stiffness measurement, the system isolates the fibrosis-specific stiffness signal, thereby improving fibrosis detection precision while maintaining the ease of non-invasive operation.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #2Taking out (Extraction)

Solution Approach 2:

The patent segments the tissue stiffness measurement into distinct components: inflammation-related stiffness and fibrosis-related stiffness. This segmentation allows the system to separately evaluate each component, enabling accurate fibrosis assessment by focusing on the fibrosis-specific portion of the stiffness signal while accounting for inflammation separately.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #1Segmentation

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 continuous, non-invasive, and accurate detection of inflammation activity, avoiding the limitations of invasive procedures like liver biopsy and providing a new perspective for grading tissue inflammation.

Implementation Method 1

Transient Elastography (TE) technique is a technique to quantitatively measure the elastic modulus of a tissue

Methodology Applied

Scientific EffectElasticity: Elasticity

Data Source

PatentUS11612375B2Method and device for detecting inflammation activity of tissue

Publication Date: 2023.03.28 WUXI HISKY MEDICAL TECH

AI summary

A method and device for detecting inflammation activity of a tissue. The method includes: determining whether there is a possibility for tissue inflammation; and when there is a possibility for tissue inflammation, determining the inflammation activity of a tissue according to tissue stiffness or a parameter reflecting tissue stiffness. The tissue stiffness or the parameter reflecting tissue stiffness can be detected by means of a non-invasive quantitative detection technique of tissue elastic modulus, avoiding defects caused by tissue biopsy, and can detect inflammation activity of a tissue non-invasively, continuously and accurately.