Adjustable Length Balloon Catheter With Inverting Tethering
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current balloon dilatation catheters for percutaneous transluminal angioplasty (PTA) lack the ability to adjust the working length, leading to inefficiencies and increased complexity when treating vascular stenoses of varying lengths, as using multiple balloons is costly and requires a large inventory of different lengths.
Innovation Solution
An adjustable length dilatation balloon catheter system featuring a balloon catheter, a slidable sheath, and a tethering system that allows for controlled exposure of the balloon length through the relative movement of the catheter and sheath, utilizing a retraction cuff and inverting sleeve to apply pulling forces and pivot the sheath, enabling variable balloon deployment.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If multiple balloons of different lengths are used to treat stenoses of varying lengths, then the ability to treat different stenoses is improved, but the device complexity, inventory requirements, and procedural complexity increase
Solution Approach 1:
The balloon is segmented from the catheter shaft via a decoupling mechanism, allowing the balloon to be separated and repositioned independently. This enables a single balloon to function as multiple different-length balloons by adjusting its exposed portion through the sheath, eliminating the need to maintain inventory of multiple fixed-length balloons.
Solution Approach 2:
The system transitions from static fixed-length balloons to a dynamic adjustable-length balloon. The balloon's exposed length can be dynamically changed during the procedure by moving it relative to the sheath using the decoupling mechanism, allowing adaptation to different stenosis lengths without changing the physical balloon itself.
2Adaptability or versatility
If multiple balloons of different lengths are used to treat stenoses of varying lengths, then the ability to treat different stenoses is improved, but the procedural complexity and cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
The balloon is pre-positioned within the sheath in a controlled manner, and the decoupling mechanism is pre-configured to allow straightforward adjustment. This preliminary arrangement simplifies the adjustment process during the procedure, making it easier to adapt to different stenosis lengths without complex maneuvers.
3Device complexity
If a fixed-length balloon is used, then the device simplicity is maintained, but the ability to optimally treat stenoses of different lengths is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
A single balloon-catheter assembly is designed to perform multiple functions by adjusting the balloon's exposed length. The decoupling mechanism and sheath arrangement enable one balloon to effectively serve as multiple different-length balloons, providing universal applicability across various stenosis lengths without requiring multiple specialized devices.
Data Source
AI summary
The present invention relates to an adjustable length dilatation balloon catheter that includes a balloon catheter, a sheath that is slidably disposed around the balloon catheter, and an inverting tethering system that permits the selective adjustment of the exposed balloon length.