Agent Delivery Device Pneumatic Mesh Propulsion
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing medical devices for delivering therapeutic agents, such as hemostatic agents, face challenges including multiple actuations, inconsistent dosing, clogging, and difficulty in reaching deep within the gastrointestinal tract during endoscopic procedures.
Innovation Solution
A medical device with a housing, force applicator, and drive mechanism that separates agents into smaller particles using gears or wedges, combined with a lumen for delivery via pressurized fluid, ensuring consistent dosing and efficient delivery to targeted sites.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If mechanical systems are used to deliver hemostatic agent, then agent delivery can be achieved, but the system requires numerous steps or actuations and may result in inconsistent dosing
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces complex mechanical actuation systems with a pneumatic system. A balloon catheter is inflated to expand a mesh structure that propels the hemostatic agent forward, eliminating the need for multiple mechanical actuations. The agent is loaded into pockets of the mesh structure, and upon inflation, the expanding mesh automatically propels the agent through the catheter to the treatment site, achieving delivery with a single action.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent utilizes the parameter change of the balloon catheter from deflated to inflated state to drive agent delivery. The phase transition of the mesh structure from compressed to expanded configuration transforms stored potential energy into kinetic energy that propels the agent, converting a static loading system into an active delivery system through parameter change.
2Productivity
If mechanical delivery systems are used, then agent can be delivered, but the agent may clog portions of the delivery device
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the hemostatic agent into discrete pockets within the mesh structure. Each pocket contains a portion of the agent, and the segmented structure prevents clogging by ensuring that individual pockets can be propelled through the catheter independently. The mesh geometry is designed with pore sizes larger than the agent particles, creating channels that prevent obstruction during delivery.
Solution Approach 2:
The mesh structure acts as an intermediary between the agent loading mechanism and the delivery catheter. The mesh pockets hold the agent during loading and then transition to propelling the agent forward, serving as a buffer that prevents direct contact between the agent and potentially clog-prone mechanical components of the delivery system.
3Productivity
If conventional delivery methods are used, then agent can be delivered, but may not achieve desired rate of agent delivery or desired dosage
Solution Approach 1:
The patent performs preliminary action by pre-loading the hemostatic agent into the mesh structure pockets before delivery. The agent is positioned in advance within each pocket, and the mesh structure is pre-configured with specific geometries that control the release rate. This eliminates the need for complex real-time dosage control mechanisms during delivery, as the dosage is predetermined by the physical configuration of the loaded mesh.
Solution Approach 2:
The expanding mesh structure creates periodic action as it propels agent-containing pockets through the catheter. The mesh expansion generates a wave-like motion that sequentially releases agent from multiple pockets, creating a controlled, periodic delivery pattern that ensures consistent dosing rates rather than all-at-once or irregular release.
4Length of moving object
If agent is delivered to deep within GI tract, then remote site treatment is achieved, but mechanical systems may not reach or maintain consistent delivery
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses pneumatic principles by inflating a balloon catheter to expand the mesh structure and propel the agent forward. The pneumatic expansion provides a powerful, controllable force that can overcome friction and resistance in long catheters, enabling reliable delivery to deep locations within the GI tract. The gas pressure-driven mechanism maintains consistent delivery force regardless of catheter length or routing complexity.
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 device ensures consistent and efficient delivery of therapeutic agents by separating them into smaller particles and propelling them through a lumen using pressurized fluid, addressing issues of inconsistency and clogging in conventional systems.
Implementation Method 1
The device defines a lumen for receiving the particles from the force applicator and for receiving a pressurized fluid to propel the particles through the lumen
Data Source
Figure 1A
Figure 1B
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AI summary
Disclosed is a medical device for administering an agent, the device comprising a housing defining an enclosure configured to be loaded with a therapeutic agent, a force applicator configured to crush or separate the therapeutic agent into smaller particles, and a lumen configured for receiving a stream of pressurized fluid and for administering said particles to a targeted site, wherein the agent is in a first form prior to it being crushed or separated into the smaller particles and being delivered to the lumen, preferably wherein the smaller particles of the agent form a powder of loose particles.