Indwelling Aortic Flow Restricting Device for Heart Failure Fluid Management
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Solution Overview
Problem
Patients with heart failure often experience excess fluid buildup, leading to increased pressure on the heart, which current treatments, such as pharmaceuticals, may not effectively address due to drug resistance or compliance issues, necessitating alternative methods to manage fluid accumulation and blood pressure.
Innovation Solution
An indwelling medical device is implanted in the aorta or vena cava, featuring a catheter with a vessel opposing member and a flow altering element, such as a balloon or stent, to restrict blood flow, thereby inducing a physiologically mediated therapeutic response and reducing fluid buildup by increasing kidney perfusion.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Quantity of substance
If diuretics are used to treat excess fluid buildup, then fluid removal is achieved, but drug resistance and compliance issues occur
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces the pharmaceutical chemical system with a mechanical device system. The indwelling device with flow altering elements mechanically restricts blood flow through the aorta or vena cava, inducing a physiological diuresis response without requiring patient compliance with medication. This substitutes chemical therapy with a mechanical-physiological approach.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces an intermediary mechanism - the indwelling device with flow altering elements - that mediates between the external treatment system and the internal physiological response. The device creates controlled flow restriction that triggers the body's natural diuresis mechanism, serving as an intermediary that bypasses the need for direct pharmaceutical intervention.
2Reliability
If implantable devices are used to influence renal function, then pharmaceutical compliance issues are avoided, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The device is segmented into distinct functional components: a catheter for delivery, a vessel opposing member portion for anchoring and flow direction, and flow altering elements for creating controlled restriction. This segmentation allows each component to perform its specific function efficiently while simplifying the overall design and deployment process.
Solution Approach 2:
The indwelling device structure serves multiple functions simultaneously: it provides mechanical support to maintain vessel patency, creates controlled flow restriction through the flow altering elements, and induces physiological diuresis. This multi-functionality reduces the need for separate devices and simplifies the overall treatment system.
3Quantity of substance
If blood flow is restricted to induce therapeutic response, then fluid removal is enhanced, but blood pressure may be affected
Solution Approach 1:
The flow restriction is applied locally at specific segments of the aorta or vena cava rather than systemically throughout the entire circulatory system. The flow altering elements create controlled restriction zones that specifically target renal perfusion and diuresis while minimizing impact on overall blood pressure through precise spatial localization of the effect.
Solution Approach 2:
The device applies partial flow restriction rather than complete occlusion, creating a controlled degree of flow limitation that is sufficient to induce diuresis without causing excessive blood pressure changes. The flow altering elements are designed to create optimal restriction levels that balance fluid removal efficacy with hemodynamic stability.
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 effectively reduces fluid accumulation and improves cardiac function by enhancing renal perfusion and urine production, while also lowering blood pressure and sympathetic nervous system activation, as demonstrated in animal studies.
Implementation Method 1
configured to alter the blood flow through the lumen to restrict blood flow in the vessel and induce a physiologically mediated therapeutic response in the patient
Implementation Method 2
alter blood flow into one or both kidneys of the patient... enhancing renal perfusion and urine production
Data Source
AI summary
Various aspects of the present disclosure are directed toward apparatuses, systems and methods that include arranging an acute alteration of blood flow in, for example, heart failure patients.