Catheter Bow Spring Radial Expansion for Irregular Lumens
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional neuromodulation catheters face challenges in reliably deploying therapeutic elements in geometrically irregular body lumens, such as curved and non-cylindrical segments, leading to incomplete lesion formation and reduced therapeutic efficacy due to anatomical irregularities.
Innovation Solution
The catheter features an elongate shaft with a therapeutic element comprising an elongate support member and independently expandable radial-expansion members, which transition from a low-profile delivery state to a deployed state, ensuring complete deployment and stable contact with the lumen wall, even in irregularly shaped lumens, by radially expanding to form a series of longitudinally and circumferentially spaced-apart contact regions.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If conventional catheters are used in geometrically irregular body lumens, then the catheter structure remains simple, but deployment reliability deteriorates due to incomplete lesion formation
Solution Approach 1:
The catheter's therapeutic element is divided into multiple independently expandable radial-expansion members distributed along the shaft. Each member can expand independently to contact the lumen wall at different locations, ensuring complete lesion formation even in irregular lumens where a single rigid structure would fail to deploy reliably.
2Adaptability or versatility
If a single rigid therapeutic element is used, then manufacturing is simpler, but the ability to adapt to irregular lumens deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The therapeutic element is segmented into multiple radial-expansion members that can independently adapt to the local geometry of irregular lumens. This segmentation allows each member to conform to the specific curvature and shape of the target lumen segment, significantly improving adaptability while maintaining manufacturability through modular construction.
Solution Approach 2:
The therapeutic element transitions from a static rigid structure to a dynamic configuration where radial-expansion members can independently expand and contract. This dynamic capability enables the catheter to adapt to various lumen geometries during deployment, allowing the therapeutic element to conform to irregular shapes and ensure complete lesion formation.
3Manufacturing precision
If radial-expansion members are made independently expandable, then deployment completeness improves, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The deployment mechanism is segmented into independent radial-expansion members, each capable of expanding independently to contact the lumen wall. This segmentation achieves complete deployment by ensuring that each member can be deployed and positioned accurately at its specific location, even in irregular lumens, without requiring complex coordinated control of the entire structure.
Solution Approach 2:
The radial-expansion members are nested within the catheter shaft in a compact configuration during delivery, allowing them to be contained within the delivery sheath. During deployment, they expand radially outward from the shaft in a controlled manner, achieving complete contact with the lumen wall while maintaining a simple overall device architecture that avoids excessive complexity.
Data Source
Figure 1A~1B
Figure 1C
Figure 2A~2E
AI summary
A neuromodulation catheter includes an elongate shaft and a neuromodulation element operably connected to the shaft. The neuromodulation element includes an elongate support member and a plurality of bow springs operably connected to the support member. The individual bow springs are configured to independently expand radially outward from the support member when the neuromodulation element transitions from a low-profile delivery state to a deployed state at a treatment location within a body lumen. The individual bow springs include a distal leg and a proximal leg and carry an electrode and/or a transducer between their respective distal and proximal legs. The distal and proximal legs of the plurality of bow springs are longitudinally interdigitated. The plurality of bow springs is configured to urge the electrodes and/or the transducers into contact with an inner surface of a wall of the body lumen at a series of contact regions.