Angioplasty Balloon Flexibility via Reconfigurable Support Structure
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional angioplasty balloons become stiff and straight when inflated, causing stress and potential damage to curved arteries, and existing attempts to increase flexibility, such as segmentation or helical designs, either fail to deliver complete stent expansion or become less flexible under high pressure.
Innovation Solution
Incorporating a supporting structure like a braid or mesh of inelastic fibers around the balloon that reconfigures to maintain flexibility and curvature even at high inflation pressures, allowing the balloon to shorten and form redundant folds, reducing longitudinally-directed tension.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Stress or pressure
If conventional low-compliance materials are used to tolerate high inflation pressures, then the balloon attains uniform predictable diameters, but the balloon becomes stiff and straight when inflated
Solution Approach 1:
The balloon is divided into multiple segments separated by hinges or articulations, allowing each segment to move independently. This segmentation enables the balloon to maintain its overall shape and pressure containment while allowing local flexibility and curvature during inflation, resolving the contradiction between structural stability and flexibility.
Solution Approach 2:
The balloon incorporates dynamic elements such as hinges, articulations, or flexible joints that allow the structure to adapt its configuration during inflation. These dynamic components enable the balloon to transition from a rigid pre-inflation state to a flexible inflated state, maintaining both pressure tolerance and curvature capability.
2Manufacturing precision
If segmented balloons are inflated enough to eliminate inter-segment gaps, then a more completely expanded stent is delivered, but adjacent segments interfere with one another hindering flexibility
Solution Approach 1:
The balloon maintains its segmented structure with hinges or articulations between segments, allowing complete stent expansion while preserving flexibility through the hinged connections. The segmentation enables each section to expand independently to ensure complete stent deployment while the hinges maintain overall balloon flexibility.
Solution Approach 2:
The hinged or articulated connections between segments provide dynamic movement capability, allowing the segments to adjust their relative positions during inflation to eliminate gaps for complete stent expansion, while simultaneously maintaining flexibility through the articulated joints that permit bending and curvature.
3Stability of the object's composition
If helical balloons are tightly wound to increase flexibility, then the balloon can disrupt longitudinal continuity, but the balloon may tear itself apart upon high-pressure inflation
Solution Approach 1:
The helical structure is implemented as discrete segments connected by hinges or articulations rather than a continuous tight winding. This segmentation maintains the flexibility benefits of the helical configuration while the hinged connections prevent stress concentration and potential tearing during high-pressure inflation.
Solution Approach 2:
The helical balloon incorporates dynamic hinges or articulations that allow the structure to adapt during inflation, distributing stress evenly throughout the structure. This dynamic design maintains flexibility while preventing the structural failure that occurs in tightly wound continuous helical structures under high pressure.
4Stability of the object's composition
If compliant balloon materials are used to increase flexibility, then the balloon is more flexible, but the balloon cannot withstand high pressures required for balloon angioplasty
Solution Approach 1:
The balloon uses compliant materials in a segmented structure with rigid or semi-rigid connectors. The compliant segments provide flexibility while the connectors maintain structural integrity and pressure tolerance, allowing the balloon to be both flexible and capable of withstanding high inflation pressures.
Solution Approach 2:
The balloon employs composite construction combining compliant flexible materials with rigid structural elements or reinforcing layers. This composite design allows the balloon to exhibit flexibility from the compliant material while the rigid components provide the necessary strength to withstand high inflation pressures during angioplasty procedures.
Data Source
AI summary
Flexible high-pressure angioplasty balloons are disclosed herein which utilize an inflatable balloon positioned upon the catheter and a supporting structure secured over or along the catheter at a first location proximal to the balloon and at a second location distal to the balloon. Inflation of the balloon reconfigures the supporting structure to urge the first location and the second location towards one another thereby inhibiting longitudinal elongation of the balloon relative to the catheter. The supporting structure may surround, support, or otherwise extend over the entire length of the balloon and allows for the balloon to retain increased flexibility which enables the balloon to bend or curve even at relatively high inflation pressures.