Balloon Catheter Folding with Centered Scoring Element Placement
Solution Overview
Problem
Balloon catheters with scoring elements face challenges in neat folding, leading to enlarged diameters, difficulty in controlling the position of the scoring element, and potential crushing, which affects their ability to effectively dilate stenotic lesions and may cause displacement during inflation.
Innovation Solution
A method for producing a balloon catheter with a projecting portion on its outer surface, involving steps to position the projecting portion inside a tubular object's mean circle centered at its gravity center, using a tubular object with groove portions, and applying pressure to control the projecting portion's position during folding.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If a balloon with a scoring element is folded, then the balloon can be inserted into a protective tube, but the scoring element may be crushed and the balloon becomes difficult to fold neatly
Solution Approach 1:
The balloon is inflated within a tubular object before folding, which pre-positions the projecting portion at the center of the tubular object. This preliminary action ensures that when the balloon is subsequently folded and inserted into the protective tube, the projecting portion remains centrally located and is not crushed, thereby maintaining both foldability and position control.
2Reliability
If the balloon is inflated within a tubular object to position the projecting portion, then the projecting portion is protected from crushing, but the process complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The tubular object serves multiple functions: it acts as a mold for inflating the balloon, a positioning device for the projecting portion, and a protective structure during folding. By combining these functions into a single component, the patent protects the scoring element without significantly increasing overall process complexity.
3Length of moving object
If the balloon is neatly folded with controlled projecting portion placement, then the outer diameter is reduced for better passing performance, but the fixing force consistency becomes more difficult to achieve
Solution Approach 1:
The balloon is inflated within a tubular object before folding, which pre-positions the projecting portion at the center of the tubular object. This preliminary action ensures that when the balloon is subsequently folded and inserted into the protective tube, the projecting portion remains centrally located and is not crushed, thereby maintaining both foldability and position control.
Data Source
AI summary
The method for producing a balloon catheter comprises a tubular object preparing step to prepare a tubular object having a space extending in the distal-proximal direction, a balloon preparing step to prepare a balloon, a balloon placement step to place the balloon in the tubular object and inflate the balloon, and a balloon deflating step to deflate the balloon and form a wing-shaped portion, wherein a projecting portion is placed on within a mean circle C1 centered at a center P1 of the tubular object, and a radius of the mean circle C1 is an average value of a shortest distance D1 from the center P1 of the tubular object to an inside surface P2 of the tubular object and a longest distance D2 from the center P1 of the tubular object to the inside surface P3 of the tubular object on a cross-section in the balloon placement step.