Endoscope-Mounted Medical Stapler With Wire-Sheath Tissue Access
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing medical staplers for suturing gastrointestinal tissues during endoscopic procedures face challenges in efficiently grasping and suturing hard-to-reach areas, leading to prolonged operation times and potential detachment of staples.
Innovation Solution
A medical stapler with an attachment-detachment portion for endoscopes, featuring a grasping portion and an advancement-retraction mechanism using a wire sheath, allowing the grasping portion to advance and retract, facilitating suturing of difficult-to-reach tissues.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If a medical stapler is used for suturing gastrointestinal tissues during endoscopic procedures, then the operation efficiency is improved, but the operation time is prolonged when dealing with hard-to-reach areas
Solution Approach 1:
The grasping portion is designed to be dynamically movable relative to the attachment-detachment portion through the advancement-retraction mechanism. The wire sheath allows the grasping portion to advance forward to reach hard-to-access tissues and retract to facilitate staple removal and device withdrawal, enabling efficient suturing of difficult-to-reach areas without extending overall operation time
Solution Approach 2:
The medical stapler is divided into distinct functional segments: the attachment-detachment portion that interfaces with the endoscope, the advancement-retraction mechanism with wire sheath, and the grasping portion with staple extraction portion. This segmentation allows independent optimization of each component's function, particularly enabling the grasping portion to move independently to access difficult areas while maintaining overall system efficiency
2Device complexity
If the grasping portion is made stationary, then the device structure is simplified, but the ability to suture hard-to-reach tissues is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The grasping portion transitions from a stationary to a dynamic configuration through the advancement-retraction mechanism. The wire sheath enables the grasping portion to advance forward to reach previously inaccessible tissues and retract for staple extraction and device withdrawal, significantly enhancing adaptability to difficult-to-reach areas while adding only minimal structural complexity
Solution Approach 2:
The wire sheath acts as an intermediary element that transmits mechanical force from the proximal end to the grasping portion at the distal end. This intermediary mechanism enables controlled advancement and retraction of the grasping portion without requiring complex direct actuation mechanisms, balancing structural simplicity with functional versatility
3Adaptability or versatility
If the grasping portion is advanced to reach hard-to-reach tissues, then the suturing capability is improved, but the risk of staple detachment increases
Solution Approach 1:
The grasping portion's dynamic advancement capability allows it to reach hard-to-access tissues for effective suturing. The corresponding retraction capability enables secure staple containment within the grasping portion before withdrawal, ensuring that staples remain firmly attached to tissues throughout the entire procedure including the advancement and retraction phases
Solution Approach 2:
The grasping portion is designed to preliminarily grasp and secure the target tissue before staple deployment during the advancement phase. This preliminary grasping action ensures proper tissue positioning and secure staple attachment before the grasping portion retracts, preventing staple detachment during the withdrawal process
Data Source
AI summary
A medical stapler includes an attachment-detachment portion that is attachable to and detachable from a distal-end portion of an endoscope; a grasping portion arranged at a distal-end side of the attachment-detachment portion and configured to grasp target tissue and suture the grasped target tissue; and an advancement-retraction mechanism configured to connect the grasping portion to the attachment-detachment portion such that the grasping portion is advanceable and retractable with respect to the attachment-detachment portion, wherein the advancement-retraction mechanism includes a wire sheath inserting through a penetration hole formed in the attachment-detachment portion, a distal end of the wire sheath is fixed to the grasping portion, and the grasping portion moves to the distal-end side by moving the wire sheath toward the distal-end side.