Rotating Atherectomy Tip With Aspiration for Wider Plaque Removal
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing minimally invasive vascular treatments, such as balloon angioplasty and atherectomy, face challenges in effectively removing plaque due to limitations in plaque removal area and potential complications, while major surgeries are invasive and risky.
Innovation Solution
An atherectomy device with a rotatable tip and auger mechanism, capable of high-speed rotation and aspiration, designed to break up and remove plaque efficiently, utilizing a flexible shaft for insertion and a guidewire, with optional auger and coating for enhanced plaque removal and vessel protection.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Object-affected harmful factors
If balloon angioplasty is used to treat vessel occlusion, then the procedure is minimally invasive, but the plaque is not removed from the vessel wall leading to restenosis
Solution Approach 1:
The atherectomy device extracts and removes plaque material from the vessel wall through mechanical cutting or abrasion. The rotating cutting element debunks plaque and allows its removal from the vessel wall, addressing the fundamental limitation of balloon angioplasty which only compresses plaque without removal.
Solution Approach 2:
The device changes the physical state of plaque from adherent to removed through mechanical action. The rotating cutting element transforms the plaque's position and state, converting it from a fixed obstruction to removable debris that can be extracted from the vessel.
2Area of moving object
If atherectomy device with larger tip is used to increase plaque removal area, then the plaque removal area increases, but the device cannot be inserted through smaller access arteries
Solution Approach 1:
The atherectomy device employs a nested structure where the cutting element is housed within a delivery catheter that passes through the access artery. The cutting element can be deployed at the target site after navigating through the vascular system, allowing a larger functional size at the treatment site while maintaining a smaller profile for insertion.
Solution Approach 2:
The device is divided into separate components: a delivery system that navigates through the vascular system and a cutting element that performs plaque removal. This segmentation allows the cutting element to be larger for effective plaque removal while the delivery system maintains a smaller profile for minimally invasive insertion.
3Productivity
If high-speed rotation is used to improve plaque removal efficiency, then the plaque removal efficiency increases, but the risk of vessel trauma and complications increases
Solution Approach 1:
The device uses an intermediary mechanism where the rotating cutting element is contained within a protective catheter during insertion and navigation. The catheter acts as a mediator that protects the vessel during the insertion process, and the cutting element is only exposed at the target site where plaque removal is needed, minimizing overall vessel trauma.
Solution Approach 2:
The high-speed rotation and plaque removal action are localized to the specific site of occlusion rather than affecting the entire vascular system. The cutting element operates only where needed, minimizing trauma to surrounding healthy tissue while maintaining high efficiency at the treatment site.
4Reliability
If major surgery is performed to treat severe vessel occlusion, then complete plaque removal and bypass are achieved, but the surgery is invasive with long recovery time and high risk
Solution Approach 1:
The device replaces complex surgical mechanical systems with a minimally invasive atherectomy mechanism. Instead of requiring open surgery with bypass grafting, the atherectomy device uses a percutaneous approach with a rotating cutting element that directly removes plaque, simplifying the overall treatment system while maintaining effectiveness.
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 increases the area of plaque removal, reduces vessel trauma, and minimizes complications by enhancing plaque breakdown and aspiration, facilitating faster recovery and safer procedures.
Implementation Method 1
The shaft rotates at high speed, typically between 100,000 and 200,000 rpm, causing the cutting or ablation surface of the tip to remove the plaque and deposits
Implementation Method 2
debris particles are removed from the vessel by aspiration through the outer tube
Data Source
AI summary
An atherectomy device for removing deposits such as plaque from an interior of a vessel including an outer member, an inner member and a rotatable shaft positioned for rotational movement within the inner member. The outer and inner members are fixed axially. A rotatable tip is mounted to the distal region of the rotatable shaft for rotation about its longitudinal axis upon rotation of the shaft to remove deposits from the vessel.