Catheter Assembly Compact Shape Handling
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Solution Overview
Problem
Longitudinally extended catheters used in Trans Radial Intervention procedures are challenging to handle due to their length, increasing the risk of contact with unclean surfaces and requiring cumbersome bundling to prevent contamination.
Innovation Solution
A catheter assembly comprising an outer and inner catheter with elongated shafts that form compact shapes when suspended or placed on a flat plane, reducing the risk of contact with unclean surfaces and simplifying handling by allowing for easier bundling, featuring a hub-connected design and hydrophilic coating for enhanced handling and insertion.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If the catheter length is increased to reach distant lesions in lower limbs via arm artery, then the treatment capability is improved, but the handling difficulty and contamination risk increase
Solution Approach 1:
The catheter shaft is designed with a predetermined curved configuration that allows it to naturally follow the anatomical path from the arm artery through the aorta to the lower limb vessels. This curvature enables the long catheter to be maneuvered through tortuous vasculature without requiring excessive manual manipulation, thus maintaining ease of operation while achieving distant lesion access.
Solution Approach 2:
The catheter is divided into multiple functional segments including a flexible shaft, a hub assembly, and a distal tip with specific characteristics. This segmentation allows each portion to be optimized independently - the shaft for navigability, the hub for control, and the tip for lesion engagement - thereby improving overall handling despite the extended length.
2Adaptability or versatility
If the catheter length is increased to reach distant lesions, then the treatment capability is improved, but the risk of contact with unclean surfaces increases
Solution Approach 1:
The catheter shaft is constructed with a flexible membrane structure that can be covered with protective sheaths or coatings. This flexible shell design allows the long catheter to be protected along its entire length, preventing contact with unclean surfaces while maintaining the necessary flexibility for navigation through blood vessels.
Solution Approach 2:
The catheter is pre-packaged in a sterile, sealed configuration before the procedure. The protective covering is designed to be removed or manipulated only at the moment of insertion, ensuring that the entire length of the catheter remains protected from contamination until it is safely introduced into the sterile field of the blood vessel system.
3Adaptability or versatility
If the catheter is made longer to access distant lesions, then the treatment capability is improved, but the complexity of managing the catheter increases
Solution Approach 1:
The catheter design integrates multiple functions into a unified structure - the shaft simultaneously provides structural support, flexibility for navigation, and a pathway for delivering treatment devices. The hub combines control mechanisms and connection points in a single assembly, reducing the number of separate components that must be managed despite the catheter's extended length.
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 catheter assembly is easier to manage and reduces the risk of contamination by forming compact shapes, facilitating safe handling and insertion, thereby enhancing procedural efficiency and safety.
Implementation Method 1
the shaft forms a first shape at least a part of which is wound in a state where the shaft is suspended in a gravity direction by holding the hub
Implementation Method 2
a hydrophilic coating for enhanced handling and insertion
Data Source
AI summary
A treatment method is disclosed, which includes preparing a catheter assembly by inserting an inner catheter into an outer catheter and screwing a protrusion of the outer catheter into a helical groove of the inner catheter; introducing the catheter assembly into the radial artery along a guide wire; pushing the catheter assembly along the guide wire to a target site in front of a stenosis of a blood vessel; releasing the screwing between the helical groove of the inner catheter and the protrusion of the outer catheter after a distal end of the catheter assembly reaches the target site; and causing the outer catheter to abut on at least a part of wall surfaces of a thoracic aorta and an abdominal aorta while drawing a helix and causing the treatment device to protrude from a distal end of the outer catheter at the stenosis.