Adjustable Balloon Catheter Pressure Control for Vessel Apposition
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing catheter systems face challenges in accommodating varying blood vessel sizes during medical procedures, particularly in delivering neuromodulation therapy, as they often require multiple catheters or removal and repositioning due to inconsistent balloon sizing.
Innovation Solution
A catheter system with a balloon that adjusts its size based on inflation pressure controlled by fluid flow, using control circuitry to maintain apposition with the vessel wall, allowing for continuous treatment across different vessel diameters without removal.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If a fixed-size balloon is used in the catheter system, then the balloon can be manufactured with simple structure, but it cannot accommodate varying blood vessel sizes without removal and repositioning
Solution Approach 1:
The balloon is designed with adjustable sizing capability through controlled expansion and contraction. The control system dynamically adjusts the balloon diameter to match different blood vessel sizes by regulating fluid flow between the balloon interior and exterior, transforming a static structure into an adaptive one that maintains optimal therapeutic element positioning across varying vessel diameters.
Solution Approach 2:
The system changes the physical parameter of balloon diameter by controlling the volume of fluid within the balloon. By adjusting fluid flow in and out of the balloon interior, the system varies the balloon's cross-sectional dimension to accommodate different blood vessel sizes, enabling a single catheter to treat multiple vessel diameters without removal.
2Reliability
If the balloon size is adjusted to match larger blood vessels, then the therapeutic element can maintain proper positioning, but more energy is required to achieve the desired therapeutic outcome
Solution Approach 1:
The control system incorporates feedback mechanisms that monitor balloon positioning and therapeutic element apposition to the vessel wall. By detecting positioning status and adjusting balloon size accordingly, the system ensures optimal energy transfer efficiency. The feedback loop prevents excessive balloon expansion that would increase energy requirements while maintaining reliable therapeutic element positioning.
Solution Approach 2:
The system applies partial expansion of the balloon - expanding it just enough to achieve proper therapeutic element positioning and apposition without over-expansion. This partial action approach maintains positioning accuracy while minimizing the energy required for therapy delivery by avoiding excessive balloon size that would dissipate energy.
3Productivity
If multiple catheters are used to treat different vessel sizes, then each vessel size can be treated optimally, but the procedure requires removal and repositioning of catheters
Solution Approach 1:
The catheter system is designed as a universal device that can treat multiple blood vessel sizes with a single catheter. The adjustable balloon allows the same catheter to adapt to different vessel diameters, eliminating the need for multiple specialized catheters and the time-consuming process of removal and repositioning, thereby improving procedural efficiency.
Solution Approach 2:
The system enables continuous treatment across different vessel sizes without interruption. By maintaining balloon inflation and adjusting size in situ, the therapeutic element remains continuously positioned against the vessel wall throughout the procedure, eliminating downtime associated with catheter removal and repositioning for different vessel segments.
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
Enables consistent therapeutic element positioning and energy delivery across varying blood vessel sizes, facilitating continuous treatment without the need for catheter removal or multiple catheters, enhancing procedural efficiency and effectiveness.
Implementation Method 1
the catheter system is configured to control a size of the balloon by at least controlling an inflation pressure of the balloon
Implementation Method 2
The therapeutic element can be configured to heat the fluid, which then heats the target tissue site at the balloon and target tissue site interface
Implementation Method 3
heat the fluid, which then heats the target tissue site
Data Source
AI summary
A catheter system (108) includes a balloon (112) and control circuitry (128) configured to control a size of the balloon by at least controlling an inflation pressure of the balloon. For example, the control circuitry can be configured to control the inflation pressure by at least controlling a flow of a fluid through an interior volume of the balloon. In some examples, the control circuitry is configured to control the size of the balloon based on an input provided by a user, e.g., based on user input indicating a pressure set point or a particular balloon size. In addition, in some examples, the control circuitry is configured to control an therapeutic element based on the size of the balloon.