Drug Delivery Balloon Catheter with Retractable Needles
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing drug delivery methods face challenges in achieving precise and controlled delivery of therapeutic agents to specific sites within the body, particularly in hard-to-reach areas like those covered by bone, and struggle with achieving adequate penetration depth and circumferential delivery in vascular tissues.
Innovation Solution
A catheter device featuring an inflatable balloon and retractable needles housed within guiding cannulas, allowing for controlled and adjustable penetration depth, circumferential delivery, and compatibility with non-circular vessel shapes, using a balloon for stabilization and reduced pressure on vessel walls.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Length of moving object
If a needle apparatus is used to penetrate tissue and reach deep target sites, then penetration depth is improved, but the risk of vessel damage and precision control deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The device divides the needle function into multiple separate needles distributed around the catheter circumference, each needle independently penetrates the vessel wall at controlled depths, allowing deep penetration while distributing the mechanical stress to reduce localized vessel damage
Solution Approach 2:
The inflatable balloon acts as an intermediary mechanism that expands to push the needles outward through the vessel wall, providing controlled penetration force while the balloon itself absorbs some of the mechanical stress and distributes the penetration action across multiple points
2Adaptability or versatility
If multiple needles are used for circumferential delivery, then delivery completeness is improved, but device complexity and operation difficulty worsen
Solution Approach 1:
Multiple needles are integrated into a single catheter assembly that can be advanced and positioned as one unit, with all needles simultaneously extendable and retractable through a unified control mechanism, achieving circumferential delivery without proportionally increasing device complexity
Solution Approach 2:
The needles are designed to be dynamically extendable and retractable rather than fixed, allowing them to be deployed only when needed for drug delivery and retracted for catheter removal, providing circumferential capability while maintaining operational simplicity through temporal separation of functions
3Length of moving object
If needle length is increased for deeper penetration, then penetration depth is improved, but device profile and maneuverability worsen
Solution Approach 1:
The needles are nested within the catheter structure during insertion, with the needle tips positioned just beyond the catheter tip, allowing long needles to be accommodated within a compact catheter profile, and the needles are deployed outward only when needed for penetration
Solution Approach 2:
The needles are oriented radially outward from the catheter axis rather than extending axially, allowing the needles to achieve deep penetration depth in the radial dimension while keeping the catheter's axial profile compact and maneuverable
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 enables precise, controlled, and adjustable delivery of therapeutic agents to vascular tissues, overcoming limitations of previous technologies by providing greater penetration depth and reduced risk of vessel damage, and allowing treatment of conditions like vascular diseases and nerve ablation.
Implementation Method 1
an inflatable balloon coupled to the distal portion of the axially extending elongate member
Data Source
AI summary
Provided are drug infusion catheters comprising an axially extending elongate member, an inflatable balloon, two or more cannula each housing an extendable needle. The drug infusion catheters are useful in the delivery of drugs to tissue surrounding a lumen or vessel within a body.