Catheter Braiding Device with Variable Wire Orientation
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Current steerable catheters face mechanical instability and control issues due to compressive forces from pullwires, leading to undesired lateral deflection and inconsistent articulation, particularly in navigating tortuous anatomies like the vascular system, where a balance between articulation performance and shaft tracking is challenging, and existing designs are costly and inefficient.
Innovation Solution
A braider system that uses an iris assembly to braid wires around a tube, allowing for adjustable circumferential orientation of wire orifices to create a braided tube assembly with varying wire spacings, which helps in anchoring pullwires effectively and maintaining axial stiffness while allowing lateral flexibility, and incorporates a rapid exchange architecture to facilitate easier guide wire management.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If pullwires are used to articulate the distal end of the catheter, then steering capability is improved, but mechanical instability and lateral deflection occur due to compressive forces
Solution Approach 1:
The catheter is divided into multiple braid sections with different wire orientations. The first braid section has wires oriented to resist compression in one direction, while the second braid section has wires oriented to resist compression in a different direction. This segmentation allows the catheter to maintain stability while accommodating pullwire forces for steering.
Solution Approach 2:
Different sections of the catheter have different braid configurations tailored to local requirements. The first braid section provides structural support for one orientation, while the second braid section provides support for another orientation. This local variation in braid quality enables the catheter to resist compressive forces in multiple directions while maintaining overall mechanical stability.
2Adaptability or versatility
If the catheter shaft is made laterally flexible to track through tortuous anatomy, then navigation capability is improved, but axial rigidity decreases making it difficult to resist high axial loads
Solution Approach 1:
The catheter's mechanical properties are made dynamic through variable braid configurations. Different braid sections provide different levels of axial and lateral support depending on the operational requirements of each section. This dynamic structure allows the catheter to be laterally flexible for navigation while maintaining axial rigidity where needed to resist loads.
Solution Approach 2:
The catheter employs a composite construction with multiple braid layers having different wire orientations and properties. This composite structure combines materials and configurations that provide lateral flexibility for tracking through tortuous anatomy with axial rigidity to resist high axial loads during articulation and manipulation.
3Strength
If multiple braid sections with different wire orientations are used to resist compressive forces, then structural support is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The braided structure is segmented into distinct sections, each with a specific wire orientation optimized for resisting compressive forces in that particular direction. This segmentation provides a systematic approach to managing complexity by dividing the overall structure into manageable, functionally-specific segments rather than attempting a uniform design.
Data Source
AI summary
A braider for braiding wires to a tube comprising an iris assembly having stacked iris plates. Each of the iris plates includes a center aperture, a wire orifice disposed radially outward from the center aperture, and an arcuate channel. The iris plates are rotatable relative to each other to adjust a circumferential orientation of the wire orifices relative to each other. The arcuate channel(s) of each respective iris plate is coincident with the wire orifice(s) of the remaining iris(es). The braider comprises a feeder assembly configured for advancing the tube through the center apertures, and advancing the wires through the respective wire orifices. The braider further comprises a braiding assembly configured for braiding a plurality of filaments around the tube and the plurality of wires as they are fed through the iris assembly, thereby creating a braided tube assembly.