Bioabsorbable Stent with Open Channels for Fluid Flow
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current stents often migrate and clog, requiring additional procedures for extraction and/or replacement, necessitating the development of improved stents that are easy to manufacture and safe for use.
Innovation Solution
A bioabsorbable stent with an elongated body featuring one or more open channels on its exterior surface for fluid communication between the proximal and distal ends, made from materials like magnesium and chitin alloys, and potentially coated with hydrogels for enhanced biocompatibility and mechanical properties.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If conventional stents are used, then they provide structural support, but they migrate and clog requiring additional procedures
Solution Approach 1:
The stent is divided into multiple struts or segments that can be independently configured to optimize both stability and manufacturability. This segmentation allows for standardized manufacturing processes while achieving reliable anchoring through specific geometric configurations of the struts.
Solution Approach 2:
The stent incorporates curved or sinusoidal patterns in its strut design rather than straight lines. These curved geometries enhance radial strength and anchoring capability (improving reliability) while being manufacturable through standard forming processes, thus resolving the contradiction between stability and ease of manufacture.
2Duration of action of stationary object
If permanent stents are used, then they provide long-term support, but they require extraction procedures
Solution Approach 1:
The stent is designed with specific dimensional parameters such as varying strut thickness, optimized cell sizes, and controlled radial strength distribution along its length. These parameter changes allow the stent to provide adequate long-term support while enabling safe absorption or removal over time, eliminating the need for complex extraction procedures.
Solution Approach 2:
The stent is designed as a temporary implant that fulfills its support function for the required duration and then safely degrades or can be easily removed. This approach trades the permanence of traditional stents for reduced procedural complexity, as the stent is designed to be disposable or self-dissolving after serving its purpose.
3Quantity of substance
If stent diameter is increased, then fluid flow improves, but device size increases
Solution Approach 1:
The stent incorporates varying strut thicknesses and cell configurations at different locations along its length. Regions requiring higher flow capacity have larger effective openings, while other regions maintain smaller dimensions. This local variation in geometry optimizes fluid flow where needed while minimizing overall stent volume and material usage.
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
The bioabsorbable stent provides stable and safe placement within bodily lumens, reducing the risk of migration and clogging, while its bioabsorbable nature ensures eventual degradation, eliminating the need for additional procedures for removal.
Implementation Method 1
The elongated stent body comprises a bioabsorbable material
Implementation Method 2
the bioabsorbable nature ensures eventual degradation
Data Source
AI summary
A bioabsorable stent is disclosed. The stent is made of a bioabsorable material and has an elongated body having a proximate end, a distal end, and at least one open channel formed on the exterior surface of the elongated body to provide fluid communication between the proximal end and the distal end. Also disclosed is a bioabsorable stent having an elongated center rod having a proximate end and a distal end and a plurality of leaflets extending outward from the center rod and forming channels between two neighboring leaflets to provide fluid communication between the proximal end and the distal end.