Biodegradable Stent with Spiral Channels for Migration and Clogging
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current stents, particularly those used in biliary and pancreatic applications, often migrate and clog, requiring frequent replacements and increasing the risk for patients with comorbidities, and are not easily made or safe to use.
Innovation Solution
A biodegradable stent with a double-channel helical twist design on its exterior surface, composed of bioabsorbable polymers, which provides fluid communication between its ends and a central lumen for a guide wire, reducing migration and clogging risks and eliminating the need for subsequent removal procedures.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If traditional stents are used in biliary and pancreatic applications, then they can provide structural support, but they migrate and clog requiring frequent replacements
Solution Approach 1:
The stent is divided into multiple segments including a distal anchor zone, a mid-section with spiral channels, and a proximal expansion zone. This segmentation allows each zone to perform specific functions: the anchor zone prevents migration, the spiral channels prevent clogging, and the expansion zone provides structural support, collectively improving reliability without requiring frequent replacements
Solution Approach 2:
The invention introduces spiral channels that wrap around the stent body in a three-dimensional configuration. These channels provide additional flow pathways that prevent clogging by distributing fluid flow across multiple dimensions, while the three-dimensional anchor structures at the ends provide migration resistance without blocking the central lumen
2Reliability
If multiple plastic stents are placed sequentially for six to twelve months, then fibrotic strictures can be treated, but procedures become expensive and increase patient risks
Solution Approach 1:
The stent is designed as a single-use, biodegradable device that is discarded after completing its therapeutic function. The bioabsorbable material degrades over time after providing the necessary structural support and flow management, eliminating the need for repeated insertion and removal procedures, thereby reducing patient risks and procedural costs while maintaining treatment effectiveness
Solution Approach 2:
The stent is intentionally designed to be temporary and biodegradable. After providing structural support and managing fluid flow during the critical healing period, the stent naturally degrades and is absorbed by the body, eliminating the need for removal procedures and reducing long-term patient risks associated with permanent implants or repeated interventions
3Ease of operation
If stents are made from biodegradable materials, then removal procedures are eliminated, but manufacturing complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The stent is constructed from composite materials including bioabsorbable polymers and potentially biodegradable metals or alloys. These composite materials provide the necessary mechanical strength and structural integrity during the functional period while maintaining biodegradability, allowing for simplified single-step manufacturing processes that form the complex spiral channel and anchor structures in one operation rather than requiring assembly of multiple components
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 biodegradable stent effectively supports vessels and ducts, optimizes fluid flow, and provides better migration resistance and crush resistance compared to traditional stents, reducing clinical costs and complications for patients.
Implementation Method 1
an elongated body composed of a biodegradable material
Implementation Method 2
composed of a bioabsorbable polymer
Data Source
Figure 1A~1B
Figure 2~3
Figure 4A~4B
AI summary
A stent is disclosed that has an elongated body composed of a bioabsorbable polymer having a proximal end, a distal end, two open spiral channels formed on the exterior surface of the body to provide fluid communication between the proximal end and the distal end. The stent also has a central lumen open at the proximal and distal ends of the stent for the passage of a guide wire. A method for using the stent and a kit containing the stent are also disclosed.