Articulatable Intravascular Filter for Emboli Capture
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current methods for removing thromboemboli and foreign bodies from the vascular system are limited by size compatibility issues, complexity of devices, and the risk of dislodging emboli during procedures, with existing systems often being ineffective in acute settings and difficult to deploy and retract safely.
Innovation Solution
A dual-filter system with articulatable sheaths and filters that can be independently controlled to navigate complex vascular anatomy, allowing for safe deployment and retrieval, and featuring a distal sheath with multiple degrees of freedom for precise positioning and a filter design that can expand to capture emboli while maintaining a small profile for access.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Length of moving object
If a microcatheter is used to access distal vascular occlusions, then the delivery profile is reduced for better access, but the filter structure becomes constrained and difficult to deploy and retract
Solution Approach 1:
The filter structure is divided into multiple segments or struts that can independently articulate relative to each other. This segmentation allows the filter to collapse into a compact configuration for delivery through microcatheters while enabling deployment into an expanded filtering configuration at the occlusion site, and facilitating retraction by articulating the segments back into the collapsed state.
Solution Approach 2:
The filter employs an articulatable structure with joints that allow dynamic transformation between collapsed and expanded states. The articulation mechanism enables the filter to adapt its configuration during delivery, deployment, and retrieval phases, making it easier to operate within the constraints of microcatheter delivery while maintaining effective filtering capability.
2Reliability
If the embolectomy device is made larger to capture clots across the entire cross section, then capture effectiveness improves, but the device cannot be delivered through small vessels and may damage the vessel wall
Solution Approach 1:
The filter structure is designed to nest within itself or within the delivery catheter in a collapsed configuration, allowing it to pass through small vessels and microcatheters. Once deployed at the occlusion site, the filter expands outward to span the entire vessel cross-section, ensuring effective clot capture without compromising delivery through narrow vessels.
Solution Approach 2:
The filter transitions from a one-dimensional linear collapsed configuration for delivery to a two-dimensional or three-dimensional expanded configuration for filtering. This dimensional transformation allows the filter to maintain a small delivery profile while achieving large surface area for effective clot capture across the vessel cross-section.
3Reliability
If the filter retaining volume is increased to prevent spillout during retraction, then material containment improves, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The filter is deployed into position and expanded to its filtering configuration before the actual clot capture and retraction processes. This preliminary deployment ensures that the filter is properly positioned and contained within the vessel, preventing spillout during subsequent retraction without requiring complex containment mechanisms.
Solution Approach 2:
The filter employs a flexible membrane or thin-walled structure that can deform and articulate during deployment and retraction while maintaining containment of captured material. The flexibility of the shell allows the filter to collapse into a compact configuration for retrieval while preventing spillout of embolic material throughout the procedure.
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 1A
Figure 1B~1C
AI summary
Single filter and multi-filter endolumenal methods and systems for filtering fluids within the body. In some embodiments a blood filtering system captures and removes particulates dislodged or generated during a surgical procedure and circulating in a patient's vasculature. In some embodiments a filter system protects the cerebral vasculature during a cardiac valve repair or replacement procedure.