Adjustable Vascular Graft With Receiver Rows For Custom Diameter
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current vascular grafts require laborious and time-consuming manual adjustments to achieve custom inner diameter reductions, which can be unreliable and lead to sub-optimal results, as they often necessitate cutting and stitching, and do not account for varied patient needs.
Innovation Solution
An adjustable vascular graft with a tubular design featuring rows of receivers along its sidewall, where a suture is passed through to cinch the graft, allowing for customizable inner diameter reduction without cutting, using a suture that can form patterns like zig-zag or crossing to achieve a desired flow restriction.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If manual cutting and stitching is used to reduce graft diameter, then custom diameter reduction can be achieved, but the procedure becomes laborious and time-consuming
Solution Approach 1:
The graft is pre-manufactured with multiple rows of receivers spaced along its length, allowing the surgeon to quickly create custom diameter reductions by simply threading a suture through selected receivers without any cutting or stitching during the procedure
Solution Approach 2:
The graft wall is segmented with discrete receivers arranged in multiple rows, enabling selective engagement of specific segments to achieve various diameter reductions while maintaining the integrity of the overall graft structure
2Adaptability or versatility
If manual cutting and stitching is used to reduce graft diameter, then custom diameter reduction can be achieved, but the graft material becomes weakened and prone to tearing
Solution Approach 1:
The receivers are pre-installed in the graft wall during manufacturing, eliminating the need for cutting or stitching during surgery. The suture passes through these pre-positioned receivers, distributing stress evenly and maintaining graft integrity without creating weak points from surgical manipulation
Solution Approach 2:
The receivers provide localized reinforcement points in the graft wall where the suture engages, concentrating the mechanical load at specific strong points rather than distributing it through cutting edges or stitch holes that would weaken the material
3Ease of manufacture
If a fixed diameter graft is used, then manufacturing is simplified, but it cannot accommodate varied patient needs
Solution Approach 1:
A single graft design with multiple rows of receivers can be used for multiple different diameter reductions and applications, making the graft universal for various patient needs without requiring separate custom-manufactured grafts for each scenario
Solution Approach 2:
The receivers are arranged in multiple discrete rows along the graft, allowing selective engagement of different numbers and combinations of receivers to achieve various diameter reductions from the same base graft, providing manufacturing efficiency with clinical versatility
4Adaptability or versatility
If extensive reconstruction is performed to achieve diameter reduction, then custom fit can be achieved, but the complexity of the procedure increases
Solution Approach 1:
All the complexity of creating receivers is performed during graft manufacturing before sterilization and packaging. The surgeon receives a ready-to-use graft with pre-positioned receivers, reducing the procedural complexity to simply threading a suture through selected receivers
Solution Approach 2:
The complex manufacturing steps of creating receivers, reinforcing holes, and positioning features are extracted from the surgical procedure and performed during graft fabrication. The surgeon is left with only the simple task of selecting and engaging pre-prepared receivers
Data Source
AI summary
An adjustable vascular graft with a user-customizable reduced inner diameter is provided. The graft includes a flexible tubular body having open ends and a plurality of receivers in a sidewall thereof, which may be arranged in two circumferentially spaced rows of receivers. The receivers may take the form of ringlets, eyelets, loops, or holes, which may be provided in a reinforced region of the graft sidewall, and which may be radiopaque. A suture passes through the plurality of receivers, the suture having first and second free ends capable of being pulled, and which suture may also be radiopaque. Tensioning or tightening the first and second ends of the suture reduces an inner diameter of the corresponding portion of the tubular body of the graft, thereby allowing for the custom reduced inner diameter and a resulting flow restriction to be provided. Related methods are also disclosed.