Tracheostomy Inner Cannula Tubular Braid Support
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Solution Overview
Problem
Tracheal or tracheostomy tube assemblies face difficulties in inserting and removing inner cannulas due to high frictional resistance caused by thin walls and flexibility, often resulting in the cannula snapping off, and existing solutions compromise breathing resistance by increasing material thickness for rigidity.
Innovation Solution
The inner cannula features a tubular braiding of threads and/or fibers as a support structure, encased in a plastic layer, providing enhanced stability and flexibility with thin walls, and a smooth inner surface to reduce friction during insertion and removal.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Object-generated harmful factors
If the inner cannula has thin walls to minimize breathing resistance, then breathing resistance is reduced, but the cannula becomes flexible and prone to snapping during insertion
Solution Approach 1:
The inner cannula combines a plastic layer with a tubular braid support structure to create a composite material system. The plastic layer provides a smooth inner surface for low friction and minimal breathing resistance, while the tubular braid provides structural rigidity and buckling stability, resolving the contradiction between thin walls for low resistance and sufficient stability during insertion.
Solution Approach 2:
The plastic layer forms a thin-walled structure that maintains flexibility while providing a smooth inner surface. This thin film approach minimizes the wall thickness to reduce breathing resistance while the underlying tubular braid support structure ensures buckling stability, allowing the cannula to be both thin-walled and stable during insertion.
2Reliability
If a spiral filament is added to increase radial rigidity, then buckling stability is improved, but the material thickness increases and breathing resistance increases
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of using a thick spiral filament throughout the entire cannula length, the invention uses a tubular braid structure with diamond-shaped openings that provide localized structural support where needed. This local quality approach maintains rigidity for buckling stability while minimizing material thickness in the cannula lumen, thereby reducing breathing resistance.
Solution Approach 2:
The tubular braid structure creates a porous framework with diamond-shaped openings that provide structural support without requiring solid material throughout. This porous design allows the cannula to maintain buckling stability while having thin walls that minimize breathing resistance, as the support structure is distributed through the braid pattern rather than requiring continuous thick material.
3Ease of operation
If the inner cannula wall thickness is reduced to minimize friction, then frictional resistance during insertion is reduced, but the cannula becomes more prone to snapping
Solution Approach 1:
The composite structure combines a thin plastic layer with a tubular braid support to achieve both low friction during insertion and stability during use. The plastic layer provides a smooth surface that reduces frictional resistance, while the tubular braid provides the structural integrity needed to prevent snapping, resolving the contradiction between ease of insertion and cannula stability.
Solution Approach 2:
The thin plastic layer forms a flexible shell that reduces friction during insertion while the embedded tubular braid provides hidden structural support. This allows the outer surface to be smooth and low-friction for easy insertion, while the internal support structure prevents snapping, achieving both ease of operation and reliability.
Data Source
Figure 1~3
AI summary
The present invention provides a tracheal or tracheostomy tubular arrangement 1 having an outer tube 2 and an inner cannula 3, which can be inserted into the outer tube 2 and pulled out of the same, wherein the inner cannula 3 has at least one plastic layer 21 forming at least the inner surface 31 of the same, and a support structure supporting the plastic layer 21. For this purpose, the support structure is configured by a tubular interlacing 20 made of threads and/or fibers.