Balloon Catheter Coil Heating Element Laser Efficiency
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing balloon catheters face challenges in efficiently heating the heating element using laser light while preventing direct heating of other parts, ensuring durability, and achieving sufficient deformation for blood vessel expansion without causing injury or restenosis.
Innovation Solution
A balloon catheter with a tightly wound coil-shaped heating element that prevents laser light leakage and direct irradiation, allowing for efficient heating and uniform temperature distribution within the balloon, along with a tapered distal end to enhance energy absorption and reduce surgery time.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Temperature
If a braided structure laser light absorbing heating tube is used, then heating function is provided, but flexibility is insufficient and deformation following capability is poor
Solution Approach 1:
The heating tube is divided into multiple independent wire sections that are braided together. Each wire can independently deform while maintaining the overall heating function, solving the contradiction between structural integrity for heating and flexibility for adapting to blood vessel shapes.
Solution Approach 2:
The heating tube uses a composite structure combining laser-absorbing material with flexible wire construction. This allows the tube to absorb laser light effectively while maintaining high flexibility and deformation capability to follow blood vessel contours.
2Force
If high pressure is applied to the balloon to push open the stenosis portion, then blood vessel expansion is achieved, but injury to deep layers of the blood vessel occurs
Solution Approach 1:
The heating tube raises the temperature of the blood vessel wall and balloon to enhance flexibility and reduce elasticity of the stenosis portion. This parameter change allows sufficient expansion force to be applied at lower pressures, preventing deep layer injury while achieving blood vessel expansion.
Solution Approach 2:
The blood vessel wall and stenosis portion are pre-heated before balloon expansion. This preliminary thermal treatment softens the tissue, making it more compliant and easier to expand without requiring excessive force that would cause injury.
3Strength
If the front end fitting is made of metal and exposed to the outside, then structural strength is provided, but risk of contact injury and excessive heating occurs
Solution Approach 1:
A heat-insulating covering is introduced as an intermediary layer between the metal front end fitting and the blood vessel wall. This covering prevents direct contact injury and blocks laser light from excessively heating the metal fitting, while the fitting maintains its structural strength for supporting the device.
Solution Approach 2:
The heat-insulating covering that might seem to reduce thermal efficiency is actually beneficial as it prevents harmful overheating of the metal fitting and surrounding tissues. It converts potential harm from excessive heating into a protective feature that ensures safe operation.
4Adaptability or versatility
If gaps are provided in the braided structure to increase flexibility, then deformation capability is improved, but laser light leaks to outside causing decreased heating efficiency
Solution Approach 1:
The braided structure is designed with specific local characteristics where the spacing and arrangement of wires provide necessary flexibility in certain directions while maintaining density in other directions to prevent laser light leakage. This local quality optimization resolves the contradiction between flexibility and heating efficiency.
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 solution enables efficient heating of the balloon catheter, reducing the risk of blood vessel injury and restenosis, shortening surgery time, and ensuring durability by preventing laser light exposure to non-heating elements, while maintaining the expanded blood vessel shape post-treatment.
Implementation Method 1
when a coil member (48) which is a heating element is tightly wound in a housed state inside an inward side tube (26) opened at both ends, and fluid (200) to be supplied into a balloon (14) is supplied from an opening part (26a) of one axial direction of the heating element, laser light is not leaked to outside
Implementation Method 2
the coil member (48) is tightly wound in a housed state inside an inward side tube (26), and fluid (200) to be supplied into a balloon (14) is supplied from an opening part (26a) of one axial direction of the heating element, laser light is not leaked to outside
Implementation Method 3
by heating the fluid inside the balloon and pushing the blood vessel wall open while warming it, it is possible to increase the flexibility of the blood vessel wall during expansion of the stenosis portion
Implementation Method 4
by pushing against the blood vessel wall a balloon for which the internal pressure of the balloon has been raised, the blood vessel wall is plastically deformed, and blood vessel expansion is realized
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2
AI summary
A balloon catheter of novel configuration, which is capable of both efficiently heating a heating element by using a laser light and of ensuring durability by avoiding the laser light directly heating members other than the heating element. Provided is a balloon catheter (10) with a balloon (14) disposed in a distal end section of a shaft (12) and wherein: a tightly wound coil shaped heating element (48) is housed and arranged in the balloon (14); an optical fiber (42) that irradiates a laser light inside the heating element (48) is disposed; and a supply path (28) that supplies a fluid to inside the balloon (14) through an inside of the heating element (48) and a discharge path (34) that discharges the fluid from inside the balloon (14) through a discharge port positioned on an outside of the heating element (48) are disposed.