Balloon Catheter Precision Drug Delivery via Segmented Tubes
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing drug-eluting balloon catheters are complex and costly to manufacture, and they lack precision in delivering therapeutic agents to specific vascular lesions, making it difficult to achieve desired treatment outcomes.
Innovation Solution
A balloon catheter design featuring multiple lumens and tubes with delivery ports along its outer surface, which are in communication with a central lumen, allowing for precise delivery of therapeutic agents to vascular lesions through strategically spaced ports that move closer together in the deflated state for targeted treatment.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Manufacturing precision
If multiple tubes with delivery ports are added to achieve precise drug delivery, then manufacturing precision and treatment effectiveness improve, but device complexity and manufacturing cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
The catheter is divided into multiple lumens (at least three) within the shaft, each lumen leading to a separate tube that extends along the balloon. Each tube can be independently controlled and equipped with delivery ports at specific locations, allowing segmented and targeted drug delivery to different portions of the vessel wall, thereby achieving precise therapeutic agent delivery while maintaining manageable structural complexity through modular design
Solution Approach 2:
Different tubes are positioned to deliver therapeutic agents to specific locations along the balloon circumference and length. The delivery ports are strategically placed at different axial and circumferential positions, enabling localized drug delivery to match the specific geometry and needs of the atherosclerotic lesion, thus improving manufacturing precision for targeted treatment
2Adaptability or versatility
If tubes are spaced apart in circumferential direction for comprehensive coverage, then treatment versatility improves, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The circumferential coverage is achieved by segmenting the delivery system into multiple tubes spaced around the balloon perimeter. Each tube handles a specific angular sector, allowing comprehensive coverage of the vessel wall while keeping each individual tube's structure simple and manageable, thus improving versatility without excessive complexity
Solution Approach 2:
The multi-lumen shaft and multiple tubes design allows the same catheter structure to treat various types and configurations of atherosclerotic lesions by adjusting which tubes are activated and their delivery parameters, providing universal applicability across different lesion geometries while using a standardized modular tube-and-lumen architecture
Data Source
AI summary
A catheter for introduction into a body vessel includes a shaft including one or more lumens, a balloon positioned at the distal end of the shaft, and at least one tube on an outer surface of the balloon and associated with the one or more lumens. The at least one tube includes one or more delivery ports for eluting a therapeutic agent, such as a drug, to treat a vascular lesion.