Angle-Changing Catheter Assembly for Occlusion-Resistant Patency
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Solution Overview
Problem
Catheters used for prolonged periods in vasculature are susceptible to occlusion, narrowing, kinking, and tip adherence, making blood withdrawal and fluid infusion challenging, often requiring additional needle sticks for blood samples, which are painful and costly.
Innovation Solution
A catheter assembly with an angle-changing mechanism, such as a telescoping member, protrusion, or pivotable platform, allows for adjustable angles to reduce occlusion risk and improve patency, facilitating blood draw and fluid delivery by aligning the catheter with the vasculature.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If a catheter is advanced through tortuous anatomy to reach a target location, then the catheter can access distant or hard-to-reach targets, but the catheter may become twisted or kinked which prevents proper positioning and function
Solution Approach 1:
The catheter incorporates a dynamic angle changing mechanism that allows the distal portion to rotate and adjust its orientation in response to the tortuous anatomy. This dynamic adjustment capability enables the catheter to navigate complex pathways while maintaining proper positioning and function at the target location.
Solution Approach 2:
The catheter is divided into multiple segments including a proximal portion, a distal portion, and an angle changing mechanism connecting them. This segmentation allows independent movement and rotation of the distal portion relative to the proximal portion, enabling the catheter to navigate tortuous pathways without becoming twisted or kinked.
2Adaptability or versatility
If the catheter shaft is made more flexible to navigate tortuous anatomy, then the catheter can bend and follow vessel paths, but the catheter may become unstable and difficult to control
Solution Approach 1:
The catheter shaft is segmented into a proximal portion and a distal portion connected by an angle changing mechanism. This segmentation allows the distal portion to be more flexible for navigating tortuous anatomy while the proximal portion remains stable for control, resolving the contradiction between flexibility and stability.
Solution Approach 2:
The angle changing mechanism provides dynamic control over the distal portion's orientation. This allows the catheter to be flexible when needed for navigation while maintaining stability during positioning and operation, as the operator can adjust the angle to optimize both flexibility and stability based on the specific anatomical situation.
3Length of moving object
If the catheter is advanced far through the body to reach the target, then the catheter can access distant targets, but the catheter may become twisted during advancement
Solution Approach 1:
The long catheter is segmented into proximal and distal portions with an angle changing mechanism in between. This segmentation prevents twisting along the entire length by allowing the distal portion to rotate independently, maintaining proper orientation even when the catheter is advanced far through the body to reach distant targets.
Solution Approach 2:
The angle changing mechanism provides dynamic rotational capability that prevents twisting during advancement of long catheters. As the catheter is pushed through tortuous anatomy, the distal portion can rotate to follow the pathway without causing twists that would prevent proper positioning at distant targets.
Data Source
Figure 1A~1B
Figure 1C~1D
Figure 1E~1F
AI summary
A catheter assembly may include a catheter adapter, which may include a distal end, a proximal end, and a lumen extending through the distal end and the proximal end. The catheter assembly may include a catheter secured within the catheter adapter and extending from the distal end of the catheter adapter. The catheter adapter may be configured to move between a first position and a second position. In response to the catheter adapter moving from the first position to the second position, an angle of the catheter adapter with respect to an insertion surface may be configured to increase, which may improve patency of the catheter assembly and alignment of a fluid path of the catheter assembly with vasculature of a patient.