Partially Biodegradable Bile Duct Stent Design
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional stents used to expand bile ducts can clog with food particles, leading to hindered bile juice discharge due to their inability to prevent reflux and lack of biodegradability, which causes them to remain in the body.
Innovation Solution
A partially biodegradable stent with a main net body made of elastically deformable wires and an auxiliary net portion formed of biodegradable materials that can be degraded by bodily fluids, preventing clogging and reflux by protruding into the duodenum.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the stent protrudes into the duodenum to prevent food reflux, then the bile duct expansion function is improved, but the stent meshes can catch food particles causing clogging
Solution Approach 1:
The stent is divided into two functional segments: a permanent main body that provides structural support and expands the bile duct, and a biodegradable auxiliary portion that protrudes into the duodenum to prevent reflux but dissolves after serving its protective function, thereby eliminating the clogging hazard
Solution Approach 2:
The material property of the auxiliary net portion is changed from permanent to biodegradable, allowing it to transform from a functional barrier against reflux into a temporary protective element that automatically disappears after degradation, thus resolving the clogging problem
2Strength
If the stent is made non-biodegradable to maintain structural integrity, then the expansion function is maintained, but the stent remains in the body causing long-term complications
Solution Approach 1:
The stent is segmented into permanent and biodegradable portions, allowing the main body to maintain structural integrity indefinitely while the auxiliary portion has a limited lifespan and degrades naturally, eliminating long-term foreign body complications
Solution Approach 2:
Different portions of the stent have different material properties: the main body uses permanent materials for sustained structural support, while the auxiliary portion uses biodegradable materials that lose strength over time and dissolve, providing localized temporary function without long-term presence
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 stent effectively expands bile ducts, prevents food reflux, and is removable by bodily fluids, ensuring smooth bile flow and avoiding stent clogging.
Implementation Method 1
an auxiliary net portion provided at one of the open opposite ends of the main net body, the auxiliary net portion formed of a biodegradable wire which can be degraded and removed by a bodily fluid
Implementation Method 2
a main net body of hollow cylindrical shape formed of elastically deformable wires interlaced with each other
Data Source
AI summary
A partially biodegradable stent includes a main net body of hollow cylindrical shape formed of elastically deformable wires interlaced with each other, the net body extending in a longitudinal direction and terminating at open opposite ends, and an auxiliary net portion provided at one of the open opposite ends of the main net body, the auxiliary net portion formed of a biodegradable wire which can be degraded and removed by a bodily fluid. The auxiliary net portion is formed by interlacing the biodegradable wire into a cylindrical shape independently of the main net body or by interlacing the biodegradable wire with the elastically deformable wires at one of the open opposite ends of the main net body.