Vacuum Cervix Handling Device for Non-Traumatic Grasping
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing gynecological devices for handling the cervix, such as tenacula and vacuum extractors, often cause tissue damage and limit procedural effectiveness due to their design, and there is a need for a safer, more reliable method that allows repeated vacuum creation and release for cervix handling.
Innovation Solution
A gynecological device with a vacuum chamber, a rod unit, and a sealing mechanism that switches between ambient and vacuum states, enabling secure vacuum application and release at the cervix, allowing for multiple handling phases without tissue damage.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Force
If traditional tenacula with teeth or prongs are used to grasp the cervix, then effective grasping is achieved, but tissue tearing and piercing occurs
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces the traditional mechanical tenaculum with teeth or prongs with a vacuum-based grasping system. The vacuum cup creates adhesion through negative pressure applied to the cervix, eliminating the need for mechanical interlocking structures that cause tissue damage. This substitution of mechanical interlocking with vacuum adhesion resolves the contradiction between effective grasping and tissue preservation.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention employs a vacuum cup connected to a vacuum source through a valve system. By controlling the vacuum pressure pneumatically, the device achieves secure cervix grasping without mechanical trauma. The pneumatic control allows for adjustable holding force while maintaining tissue integrity, directly addressing the contradiction between grasping effectiveness and harm prevention.
2Reliability
If a closed suction part with narrow central tunnel is used, then vacuum application is achieved, but instrument passage is blocked
Solution Approach 1:
The vacuum cup is designed with multiple separate openings or channels around the central axis rather than a single narrow central tunnel. This segmentation allows multiple gynecological instruments to pass through different openings simultaneously while the vacuum is applied through the distributed channels, resolving the contradiction between reliable vacuum application and instrument accessibility.
Solution Approach 2:
Instead of relying on a single central tunnel for both vacuum application and instrument passage, the invention distributes vacuum channels in a radial or circumferential pattern around the cup. This dimensional redistribution creates multiple pathways for instruments while maintaining vacuum effectiveness, eliminating the blockage problem caused by narrow central tunnels.
3Ease of manufacture
If fixed central tunnel diameter is used, then manufacturing simplicity is maintained, but cervix dilation is limited
Solution Approach 1:
The device incorporates an expandable or adjustable cup structure that can change its internal diameter or opening size. This dynamic adaptation allows the cup to accommodate cervixes of different sizes and dilation requirements while maintaining manufacturing feasibility through modular or collapsible design elements, resolving the contradiction between manufacturing simplicity and adaptability.
4Ease of manufacture
If single-use device is used, then sterilization complexity is avoided, but multiple handling phases are limited
Solution Approach 1:
The vacuum system incorporates a valve mechanism that allows periodic activation and deactivation of the vacuum. This enables the single-use device to perform multiple handling phases by repeatedly creating and releasing vacuum grip on the cervix, maintaining the benefits of disposable design while achieving repeated handling capability through cyclic operational control.
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 device provides safe, efficient, and non-traumatic cervix handling, facilitating complete procedures with a single-use or reusable design, and enabling multiple attempts for precise manipulation.
Implementation Method 1
a body part (2) having a vacuum chamber (3)
Implementation Method 2
a sealing mechanism (6) configured to switch between an ambient state and a vacuum state
Data Source
AI summary
A gynecological device including a body part having a vacuum chamber, a rod unit with distal and proximal ends, and a channel extending between the distal and proximal ends, a cervix head arranged at the distal end of the rod unit, and a sealing mechanism configured to switch between an ambient state and a vacuum state. The rod unit extends to the vacuum chamber of the body part with the proximal end of the rod unit being located in the vacuum chamber. The cervix head is configured to engage a vaginal side of a cervix. When in the ambient state of the sealing mechanism, the vacuum chamber is sealed and the channel of the rod unit is open to an exterior of the gynecological device. In the vacuum state of the sealing mechanism, the channel is open to the vacuum chamber and sealed to the exterior of the gynecological device.