Designing a Longer Lasting Flexible Endoscope

Buglino, Donald

Student Work

Designing a Longer Lasting Flexible Endoscope

Public

Endoscopes are incredibly useful tools in the world of medicine. They are used to inspect internal organs such as the kidneys, colon, lungs, and heart, that would otherwise require extensive surgical procedures to observe. They can also be used to perform biopsies, break up kidney stones and facilitate other minor procedures by providing access for surgical instruments through the working channel of the endoscope. Endoscopes can also be used in industrial applications to inspect hard to reach areas. Reusable endoscopes, however, are incredibly expensive pieces of equipment. For example a complete lower gastrointestinal tract system can cost anywhere from $20,000 to $120,000, depending on the type (Mihai Ciocîrlan, 2019). These endoscopes need to be stored, handled, and sterilized in very specific ways, which they often are not. This can cause premature failure of certain parts of the endoscope, most commonly the distal end. This project focuses on identifying an alternative material to be used to manufacture the angle cover of the Flex XC ureteroscope, a ureteroscope manufactured by Karl Storz. The angle cover is a thin rubber cover that is used to protect the inner components of the flexible tip of the endoscope. This cover needs to be able to resist wear from the components underneath, withstand sterilization practices, stand up to the stresses imposed on the ureteroscope from deflection of the distal tip, and improper storage methods. This project will build on the successes of a previous team who worked on this project. During their time contributing to this project, three distinct tests were developed to analyze the material properties of potential alternative materials. These tests tested each material’s hardness, tensile strength, and abrasion resistance. Preliminary testing was started and based on designated criteria; materials were identified that should be considered as alternatives. To further their work, a methods were developed to established to refine testing which led to the conclusion of preliminary testing. Next, 2-3 materials were identified using the previous team’s results and our own testing, as materials to pursue as candidates for an angle cover prototype. From these tests, a decision will be made on which materials should be considered as acceptable replacements for current materials used as angle covers. Prototype angle covers will then be manufactured from the selected materials in order to test their performance in their natural shape and on a vertebrae. This was done to verify that testing conditions were representative of real-life applications.

This report represents the work of one or more WPI undergraduate students submitted to the faculty as evidence of completion of a degree requirement. WPI routinely publishes these reports on its website without editorial or peer review.

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