Catheter Accessory Structure for Pushability Without Larger Diameter
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing catheters face difficulties in navigating the curves of blood vessels due to insufficient pushability and flexibility, leading to potential complications such as bleeding or vascular damage when larger diameters are used to overcome anatomical variations or vessel tortuosities.
Innovation Solution
A catheter accessory with an elongated tubular structure that provides pre-determined flexural rigidity and flexibility, installed on the intermediate portion of the catheter, enhancing pushability while maintaining a slender structure to avoid covering the distal portion, which includes devices like stents or balloons, and can be temporarily expanded for installation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If the catheter diameter is increased to overcome anatomical variations or vessel tortuosities, then the pushability and ability to navigate curves is improved, but the risk of bleeding or vascular damage increases
Solution Approach 1:
The catheter is divided into distinct sections with different mechanical properties: a distal portion with higher flexibility for navigating curves, an intermediate portion with enhanced pushability, and a proximal portion for operator manipulation. This segmentation allows each section to be optimized for its specific function without compromising the others.
Solution Approach 2:
Different portions of the catheter are赋予 different local properties: the distal portion has lower flexural rigidity for following vessel curves, while the intermediate portion has higher flexural rigidity for providing pushability. This local differentiation resolves the contradiction by providing both flexibility and pushability where needed without requiring an overall increase in catheter diameter.
2Force
If the catheter diameter is increased to improve pushability, then the ability to deliver devices across target lesions is improved, but the catheter structure becomes less slender and more invasive
Solution Approach 1:
The catheter incorporates composite construction with different materials or material configurations in different sections. The intermediate portion uses materials or structures that provide enhanced flexural rigidity and pushability, while the distal portion uses materials that maintain flexibility and slender profile for vessel navigation.
Solution Approach 2:
The catheter is segmented into functional zones where the intermediate portion is optimized for pushability while maintaining a slender overall profile. This allows the catheter to deliver devices effectively without requiring a uniformly larger diameter along its entire length.
3Force
If the catheter structure is made more rigid to improve pushability, then the ability to advance through blood vessels is improved, but the flexibility to follow vessel curves deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The catheter exhibits local quality variations in flexural rigidity: the distal portion has lower rigidity to follow vessel curves, while the intermediate portion has higher rigidity to provide pushability. This local differentiation allows the catheter to simultaneously exhibit both flexibility and rigidity in different sections without compromise.
Solution Approach 2:
The catheter is segmented into functional portions with differentiated mechanical properties, allowing the distal portion to be flexible for navigation while the intermediate portion is rigid for pushing, thereby resolving the contradiction between overall flexibility and pushability.
Data Source
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Figure 3A~3C
Figure 4A~4C
AI summary
A catheter accessory for use with a catheter having a distal portion comprising an intervention accessory having a distal portion outer diameter. The catheter accessory comprises an elongated tubular structure, releasably mounted onto the intermediate portion, but static during operation, to provide a pre-determined flexural rigidity and a pre-determined flexibility simultaneously to the intermediate portion covered by the elongated tubular structure. The elongated tubular structure has a default shape and size for operation with a lumen with an inside diameter larger than the intermediate portion outer diameter and smaller than the distal portion outer diameter, holding the catheter accessory onto the intermediate portion and completely proximal to the distal portion comprising the intervention accessory during the operation. It can be slid from the proximal portion, or be temporarily radially expandible to be inserted from the larger distal tip and slid toward the desired static position, completely proximal the distal portion.