Ultrasonic Vibration Transmission Coating for Tissue Heat Suppression
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Solution Overview
Problem
Ultrasonic treatment instruments cause unintended effects on living tissues due to temperature increase on the outer surface of the vibration transmission member, which can occur when it comes into contact with regions other than the target area.
Innovation Solution
A vibration transmission member with a first covering made of a material with lower thermal conductivity and electrical insulating properties, and a second covering with varying thickness to manage stress concentration, is integrated with the main body, reducing thermal conductivity and providing stress relief.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Object-affected harmful factors
If a coating is formed on the outer surface of the vibration transmission member to prevent unintended effects on living tissue, then thermal insulation performance is improved, but stress concentration and crack formation occur due to uniform thickness
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality by making the coating thickness non-uniform, with different thicknesses in different circumferential regions. The first region has a greater thickness than the second region, allowing each region to have optimized properties: the thicker first region provides better stress resistance where needed, while the thinner second region maintains thermal insulation performance.
2Object-affected harmful factors
If the coating thickness is increased to improve thermal insulation, then temperature rise is suppressed, but stress concentration increases leading to crack formation
Solution Approach 1:
The patent divides the coating into regions with different thicknesses tailored to local requirements. The first region with greater thickness addresses stress concentration in high-stress areas, while the second region with lesser thickness provides sufficient thermal insulation without excessive stress accumulation, thus resolving the contradiction between thermal insulation and stress resistance.
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
The solution effectively suppresses temperature rise on non-target tissue contact, prevents crack formation, and enhances treatment performance by minimizing high-frequency current flow to non-target areas, thus avoiding unintended effects on living tissues.
Implementation Method 1
a first covering formed of a material that has an electrical insulating property and has a thermal conductivity lower than a thermal conductivity of the main body... and a second covering formed of a material that has an electrical insulating property and has a thermal conductivity lower than the thermal conductivity of the main body
Implementation Method 2
a vibration transmission member that transmits ultrasonic vibration from a proximal end toward a distal end and applies the ultrasonic vibration to a target region
Implementation Method 3
a first covering formed of a material that has an electrical insulating property... and a second covering formed of a material that has an electrical insulating property
Data Source
AI summary
A vibration transmission member includes a main body, a treatment portion that is provided at the distal end of the main body, a first covering formed of a material that has an electrical insulating property and has a thermal conductivity lower than a thermal conductivity of the main body, which covers a part of a surface of the treatment portion, and a second covering formed of a material that has an electrical insulating property and has a thermal conductivity lower than the thermal conductivity of the main body. The second covering is integrally formed with at least a part of the first covering and varies in thickness in a circumferential direction of the main body. The second covering includes a first area and a second area in the circumferential direction, such that a thickness dimension of the first area is smaller than a thickness dimension of the second area.