Balloon-Driven Catheter Skeleton Contraction for Articulation Control
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current articulation systems for elongate flexible structures, such as catheters and guidewires, face challenges in maintaining accurate control due to hysteresis and friction issues, particularly when bending, which complicates precise movement and alignment within the body's tortuous lumens.
Innovation Solution
A fluid-driven balloon array is used to locally contract or expand the skeleton of the flexible body, allowing for controlled bending and stiffness modulation by selectively inflating or deflating subsets of balloons, enabling precise articulation and alignment within the body.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If traditional articulation systems are used for elongate flexible structures, then the system can provide basic bending capability, but hysteresis and friction issues arise that complicate precise movement and alignment control
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs a balloon array system where multiple small balloons are inflated and deflated to articulate the flexible body. This pneumatic approach replaces traditional mechanical articulation mechanisms, eliminating hysteresis and friction issues associated with mechanical joints and cables, thereby improving control precision and predictability
Solution Approach 2:
The articulation system is divided into multiple independent balloon elements distributed along the flexible body. Each balloon can be independently controlled to create specific bending patterns, enabling precise and predictable movement through segmented control rather than monolithic mechanical articulation
2Measurement precision
If exotic materials or large numbers of parts are used to achieve precise articulation, then control precision improves, but device complexity and cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
The balloon array system serves multiple functions: articulation, stiffness modulation, and shape control, all through a single integrated mechanism. This eliminates the need for separate mechanical articulation components, reducing overall system complexity while maintaining precision
Solution Approach 2:
The system achieves precise articulation by changing the inflation parameters of the balloon array rather than using complex mechanical joints. By controlling balloon pressure and volume, the system can dynamically adjust articulation precision without adding mechanical complexity
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
This approach enhances control over the flexible body's shape and movement, improving precision and predictability, while reducing the complexity and cost of the articulation system by eliminating the need for exotic materials or large numbers of parts.
Implementation Method 1
Local contraction of flexible bodies using balloon expansion for extension-contraction catheter articulation
Data Source
AI summary
Articulation devices, systems, and methods for articulating elongate flexible structures can locally contract a flexible elongate frame or skeleton of an elongate flexible body such as a catheter. Balloons along one side of an axial segment of the elongate flexible body can be inflated so as to help define a resting shape of the elongate body. The skeleton may have pairs of corresponding axially oriented surface regions coupled to each other by a loop of a deformable helical coil structure. Balloons may be between the regions, and the pairs may be separated by an offset that increases when the axis of the skeleton is axially compressed. Inflation of the balloons can axially contract or shorten the skeleton adjacent the balloons so that the elongate body bends toward the balloons. Different sets of balloons may apply opposing local axial elongation and contraction forces so that selective inflation and deflation of subsets of the balloons can controllably bend and/or change an overall axial length of the elongate body throughout a workspace. Varying the inflation pressures of the opposed balloons can controllably and locally modulate the stiffness of the elongate body.