Systems and methods for design and 3-d fabrication of laryngoscopes, pharyngoscopes, and oral cavity retractors

Abstract

In one aspect, a method of redesigning a laryngoscope, a pharyngoscope, or an oral cavity retractor is disclosed, which includes generating a computerized 3-D model of a laryngoscope, pharyngoscope, or an oral cavity retractor, adjusting one or more parameters of the 3-D model to obtain a 3-D design of a laryngoscope, pharyngoscope, or oral cavity retractor that can provide a desired visual access to the upper aerodigestive tract of a patient or a group of patients, and fabricating a laryngoscope, pharyngoscope, or an oral cavity retractor based on said 3-D design using an additive manufacturing technique, such as 3-D printing.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A method of redesigning a laryngoscope, a pharyngoscope, or an oral cavity retractor, comprising:
 generating a computerized 3-D model of a laryngoscope, pharyngoscope, or an oral cavity retractor,   adjusting one or more parameters of the 3-D model to obtain a 3-D design of a laryngoscope, pharyngoscope, or oral cavity retractor that can provide a desired visual access to the upper aerodigestive tract of a patient or a group of patients,   fabricating a laryngoscope, pharyngoscope, or an oral cavity retractor based on said 3-D design using an additive manufacturing technique.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein said additive manufacturing technique comprises 3-D printing. 
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising acquiring anatomical profile of a patient or a group of patients and generating said computerized 3-D model based on said anatomical profile. 
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising utilizing a structural finite element analysis to identify one or more segments or components associated with said 3-D design that require structural reinforcement. 
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 5 , wherein said fabricating step the laryngoscope, the pharyngoscope of the oral cavity retractor comprises structurally configuring said identified one or more segments or components so as to provide structural reinforcement of said segments or components. 
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 6 , wherein the step of structurally configuring said identified one or more segments or components comprises selecting any of a thickness, shape and composition of said segments or components such that said segments or components can withstand forces applied thereto during use of said laryngoscope, pharyngoscope, and the oral cavity retractor. 
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein said laryngoscope comprises a speculum having a top plate coupled to a base plate and said method includes adjusting a thickness, shape, and composition of at least a portion of said top plate. 
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein said desired visual access is characterized by a maximum tilt of a surgical microscope optically coupled to any of said laryngoscope, pharyngoscope and the oral cavity retractor relative to a longitudinal axis of any of said laryngoscope, pharyngoscope and the oral cavity retractor that can be used for viewing a surgical site of interest in the aerodigestive tract of a patient or a group of patients. 
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 8 , wherein said maximum tilt is about 30 degrees. 
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 8 , wherein said surgical site of interest comprises an anatomical structure of the upper aerodigestive tract. 
     
     
         11 . A method comprising:
 generating an anatomical profile of the upper aerodigestive tract associated with a patient or a group of patients; and   producing at least one component of a laryngoscope, pharyngoscope, or oral cavity retractor based on the anatomical profile.   
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 11 , wherein the step of generating the anatomical profile comprises utilizing image data of the aerodigestive tract. 
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 11 , wherein the anatomical profile includes the three-dimensional profile of jaw-opening capacity, aerodigestive lumen, and anatomical soft-tissue structural conformation as well as a rheological assessment of the anatomic soft tissues peripheral to the airway lumen. 
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 11 , further comprising:
 producing the component of the laryngoscope, pharyngoscope, or oral cavity retractor with a three-dimensional (3D) printer.   
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 14 , wherein the component comprises a metal, plastic, or composite material. 
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 11 , further comprising:
 determining a material of the component of the laryngoscope based on at least one of the anatomical profiles, structural requirements, ease of maintenance and sterilization, and economy of production.   
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 11 , wherein the component is a top plate of a speculum. 
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 11 , wherein the component is a baseplate of a speculum. 
     
     
         19 . The method of  claim 11  , further comprising:
 determining a parameter of the component based on the anatomical profile, and producing the component based on the determined parameter. 
 
     
     
         20 . The method of  claim 19 , wherein the parameter includes the length of any of the speculum and/or the base plate, the inner diameter of the lumen of the laryngoscope, the radius of curvature of the speculum, a tilt angle of a proximal portion of the base plate relative to the rest of the baseplate. 
     
     
         21 . A system comprising:
 a component producing system;   a computer-readable storage medium with computer readable program instructions; and   a processor in communication with the computer-readable storage medium, wherein the processor is configured to execute computer readable program instructions stored in the computer-readable storage medium which causes the processor to:   determine an anatomical profile of a patient; and   send a signal to produce the component to a component producing system based on the anatomical profile,   wherein in response to receiving the signal, the component-producing system is configured to produce the component based on the anatomical profile.   
     
     
         22 . The system of  claim 21 , wherein the processor is further configured to determine parameters of a component of a laryngoscope based on the anatomical profile and in response to receiving the signal, and the component producing system is further configured to produce the component based on the parameters. 
     
     
         23 . The system of  claim 22 , wherein the parameters include the length of any of the speculum and/or the base plate, the inner diameter of the lumen of the laryngoscope, the radius of curvature of the speculum, a tilt angle of a proximal portion of the base plate relative to the rest of the baseplate. 
     
     
         24 . The system of  claim 22 , wherein the configured processor is further configured to determine the parameter based on image data. 
     
     
         25 . The system of  claim 21 , wherein the component producing system is a 3D printer or other additive manufacturing equipment. 
     
     
         26 . The system of  claim 21 , wherein the component is a speculum. 
     
     
         27 . The system of  claim 21 , wherein the component is a baseplate. 
     
     
         28 . The system of  claim 21 , wherein the material of the component is metal, plastic, or a composite. 
     
     
         29 . The system of  claim 21 , wherein the configured processor is further configured to:
 determine the material based on the anatomical profile.   
     
     
         30 . A method of fabricating a laryngoscope, pharyngoscope, or oral-cavity retractor having a speculum releasably attached to a baseplate for use with an individual patient, comprising:
 obtaining anatomical data regarding an individual patient's larynx,   obtaining one or more structural and/or compositional parameters of at least one of the speculum and the baseplate by adjusting the parameters so as to obtain a desired visual access to a site of interest when using the speculum to visualize that site in the patient, and   using the parameters to fabricate the speculum and the baseplate.