Angled Coolant Conduit Layout for Repeatable Microwave Ablation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing microwave ablation probes face challenges in maintaining a small size while ensuring a repeatable and reliable ablation zone, often suffering from manufacturing defects and performance issues due to the complexity of positioning components.
Innovation Solution
The design incorporates a coolant conduit with a distal portion made of a different material than the proximal portion, featuring an angled end surface relative to the conduit axis, which ensures proper positioning and continuous coolant flow, preventing obstruction and maintaining a consistent ablation zone.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Object-affected harmful factors
If the microwave ablation antenna and probe size are reduced to minimize damage to nearby tissues, then the precision and safety of the treatment is improved, but the manufacturing complexity and difficulty of positioning components increases
Solution Approach 1:
The coolant conduit is divided into two distinct segments: a proximal portion made of metal and a distal portion made of polyimide. This segmentation allows each portion to be optimized for its specific function - the metal portion for structural integrity and the polyimide portion for flexibility and positioning stability - while collectively solving the complexity of positioning components in a small probe.
Solution Approach 2:
The coolant conduit uses a composite structure combining metal and polyimide materials. The metal proximal portion provides mechanical strength, while the polyimide distal portion provides flexibility and resistance to thermal damage. This composite approach enables the conduit to maintain its position reliably in the small probe while withstanding the thermal environment.
2Ease of manufacture
If the coolant conduit is made of a single material, then the manufacturing process is simplified, but the reliability of maintaining proper positioning and preventing obstruction is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The coolant conduit is segmented into a proximal metal portion and a distal polyimide portion, each made of different materials optimized for their specific functional requirements. This segmentation enables the conduit to achieve both reliable positioning and resistance to thermal obstruction while remaining manufacturable through standard joining processes.
Solution Approach 2:
By using a composite material structure with a metal proximal portion and polyimide distal portion, the conduit achieves enhanced reliability in maintaining positioning and preventing obstruction. The metal provides structural stability while the polyimide provides thermal resistance and flexibility, overcoming the limitations of single-material conduits.
3Ease of manufacture
If the coolant conduit has a straight end surface, then the manufacturing process is simpler, but the coolant flow may be obstructed if the conduit moves or is displaced after assembly
Solution Approach 1:
The distal end of the coolant conduit features an angled end surface rather than a straight perpendicular surface. This asymmetric design ensures that even if the conduit shifts position slightly during or after assembly, the angled surface prevents obstruction of the coolant flow path, maintaining reliable coolant delivery to the tip.
4Manufacturing precision
If the probe components are positioned with high precision to ensure repeatable ablation zones, then the treatment reliability is improved, but the manufacturing cost and complexity increase
Solution Approach 1:
The coolant conduit is designed with an angled end surface that preliminarily compensates for potential positioning variations. This design feature is built into the component itself, eliminating the need for extremely tight assembly tolerances and complex adjustment procedures while still ensuring repeatable and reliable ablation zones.
Data Source
AI summary
A microwave ablation probe includes a shell extending in an axial direction and defining an inner cavity, a tip positioned on a distal end of the shell, a cable with a microwave antenna extending axially in the inner cavity, and a coolant conduit positioned radially outward of the cable defining a coolant flow path toward the tip. A distal end of the coolant conduit includes an angled end surface oriented at an angle relative to an axis of the coolant conduit.