Ablation Catheter Tubular Braided Element Expansion
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing catheter methods for blood vessel ablation, such as phlebectomy, cause excessive trauma to blood vessels and surrounding tissues, leading to undesirable complications like hematoma and vein collapse.
Innovation Solution
A tubular braided element with a variable diameter that expands along the blood vessel wall, applying a controlled wounding force through a mechanism of expansion and retraction, allowing for uniform pressure distribution and minimization of trauma, optionally coated with drugs and equipped with a fluid channel for targeted treatment.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If mechanical wire rotation is used for vein ablation, then the vein can be removed, but excessive trauma and hematoma are caused to surrounding tissues
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces the mechanical wire rotation system with a catheter-based system that delivers energy (such as radiofrequency or laser energy) to ablate the vein. This substitution eliminates the need for mechanical trauma through wire rotation while achieving vein removal through controlled energy delivery, thereby reducing harm to surrounding tissues.
Solution Approach 2:
The catheter acts as an intermediary device that delivers energy to the vein wall without requiring direct mechanical contact and rotation like the wire method. The energy-mediated ablation process allows for precise control of the ablation depth and extent, preventing excessive trauma to surrounding tissues while effectively removing the target vein.
2Ease of operation
If catheter methods are used for blood vessel ablation, then minimally invasive treatment is achieved, but trauma to the blood vessel wall occurs
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs controlled energy delivery parameters (such as radiofrequency power levels, laser energy density, or pulse duration) to achieve vein ablation. By precisely controlling these parameters, the system can selectively ablate the target vein wall while minimizing thermal spread and trauma to surrounding healthy tissues, thus maintaining the minimally invasive advantage while reducing vessel wall damage.
Solution Approach 2:
The ablation process uses periodic or pulsed energy delivery rather than continuous exposure. This allows for controlled heating cycles with intervals for heat dissipation, preventing excessive temperature rise and trauma to the blood vessel wall while still achieving effective ablation of the target vein through repeated controlled energy applications.
3Manufacturing precision
If uniform ablation pressure is applied to blood vessels of varying width, then consistent treatment is achieved, but the catheter must adapt to changing vessel geometry
Solution Approach 1:
The catheter system incorporates dynamic adjustment capabilities that allow it to adapt to varying blood vessel geometries in real-time. This may include adjustable expansion mechanisms, flexible positioning systems, or controllable energy delivery that can be modulated based on the local vessel diameter, enabling uniform ablation pressure to be maintained across vessels of different widths while preserving the ability to handle anatomical variations.
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 reduces trauma to blood vessels and surrounding tissues by applying a controlled wounding pressure that induces ablation while minimizing damage, allowing for precise treatment of blood vessels with varying widths and complexities.
Implementation Method 1
Retracting the tubular braided element back from its expanding position along the blood vessel wall applies a relatively mild wounding force on the blood vessel wall... The retracting of the tubular braided element scratches the blood vessel along the longitudinal path of the tubular braided element
Data Source
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AI summary
An ablation catheter system that comprises a channel, a tubular braided element having an outer circumferential surface and a lumen, the tubular braided element being sized and shaped to be placed in the channel when in a compressed configuration and to be expanded in a target area of a blood vessel in a manner that the outer circumferential surface touches the walls of the target blood vessel in the target area when in an expanded configuration, and a longitudinal maneuvering element which is mechanically connected to a distal end of the tubular braided element and set to pull the distal end into the lumen so as to curve radially and outwardly a plurality of annular segments of the expand tubular braided element in a sequential manner.