Medical Catheter Balloon Varying Crystallization Properties
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Medical devices such as catheter balloons face challenges in achieving the desired physical property profiles, particularly in maintaining softness and trackability at the distal end while ensuring high strength and kink resistance, due to crystallization issues during heat welding and tensile stress during withdrawal, which affects the balloon's performance and guide catheter compatibility.
Innovation Solution
Incorporating a varying content of crystallization modifiers along the length of medical devices, such as a crystallization enhancer at the distal end for increased tensile strength and a crystallization inhibitor at the balloon waist to reduce rigidity during heat welding, allowing for tailored crystallization properties to meet specific application requirements.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If heat welding is used to bond the balloon to the catheter tube, then bond reliability is improved, but crystallization develops in the bond region causing increased stiffness that adversely affects catheter softness and trackability
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality by using different polymer compositions in different regions of the catheter. The distal end and bond region use a polymer with slower crystallization kinetics to maintain softness and flexibility, while the proximal shaft uses a polymer with faster crystallization to provide structural strength and kink resistance. This regional differentiation resolves the contradiction between bond reliability and overall catheter softness.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent employs composite materials by combining polymers with different crystallization characteristics in a single catheter structure. The composite construction allows the distal end to have slower-crystallizing polymer for softness while the proximal end has faster-crystallizing polymer for strength, thereby resolving the contradiction between bond reliability and catheter flexibility.
2Force
If the catheter shaft is made rigid and kink-resistant proximally to transmit torque effectively, then torque transmission is improved, but the distal end becomes less soft and trackable
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality by using polymer compositions with different crystallization kinetics in different catheter regions. The proximal shaft uses faster-crystallizing polymer to provide rigidity and kink resistance for effective torque transmission, while the distal end uses slower-crystallizing polymer to maintain softness and trackability, thereby resolving the contradiction between torque transmission and distal end softness.
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
This approach enables the creation of medical devices with tailored properties, enhancing softness, trackability, and tensile strength, while minimizing crystallization-induced stiffness and improving withdrawal resistance, thus optimizing device performance and compatibility with guide catheters.
Implementation Method 1
a melt processed part desirably has different crystallizing properties at different locations. In accordance with the invention the part is formed of a polymer composition by inclusion a of polymer crystallization modifier in the composition
Implementation Method 2
heat welded balloon-to-tube bonds, typically provided by laser heating
Implementation Method 3
heat welded balloon-to-tube bonds, typically provided by laser heating
Data Source
AI summary
A medical device in which a melt processed part has different crystallized properties at different locations. The part is formed of a polymer composition by inclusion a of polymer crystallization modifier in the composition making up at least a portion of such part, the amount of the polymer crystallization modifier is varied at different locations on the part in accordance with the desired difference in crystallization behavior.