Catheter Cap and Segmented Tube for Lumen Shape Stability
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional catheters deform when tensile force is applied, obstructing medication injection or endoscopic device insertion due to constriction of lumen openings.
Innovation Solution
A catheter design featuring a tube with varying rigidity portions and strategically placed holes, along with a cap and pipes to prevent wire sliding, ensuring efficient bending and insertion capabilities.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If the lumen extrusion tip is made of less rigidity material to enable bending, then the catheter can be adjusted to left or right, but the lumen openings deform elliptically when tensile force is applied
Solution Approach 1:
The catheter is divided into segments with different rigidity characteristics: a first tube portion with higher rigidity containing the wire, and a second tube portion with lower rigidity for bending. The cap is engaged with the wire extrusion to provide localized support at the tip, preventing deformation of lumen openings while preserving the bending capability of the second tube portion.
Solution Approach 2:
The catheter employs composite construction by combining materials with different rigidity properties in specific regions. The first tube portion uses more rigid material to maintain lumen shape under tension, while the second tube portion uses less rigid material for flexibility. The cap structure provides additional rigid support where needed.
2Measurement precision
If the wire is pulled to bend the catheter tip, then the catheter can be positioned accurately, but the tensile force constricts the lumen openings
Solution Approach 1:
The tube is segmented into a first portion that bears the tensile load from wire tension and a second portion that provides bending flexibility. The cap is engaged with the wire extrusion in the first portion to reinforce it against constriction, allowing the wire to be pulled for positioning without compromising lumen opening area.
3Shape
If the cap is made with greater rigidity than the tube portions, then the lumen openings are protected from deformation, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The cap is designed with greater rigidity than the tube portions to provide localized support where the wire extrusion occurs. This localized reinforcement protects the lumen openings from deformation without requiring the entire catheter to be complex. The cap is engaged specifically with the wire extrusion portion to provide support only where needed.
Data Source
Figure 1A~1B
Figure 2A~2B
Figure 3
AI summary
A catheter is provided, which includes a tube including a first portion, a second portion connected to the first portion and having a less rigidity than the first portion, and a plurality of holes longitudinally penetrating the first portion and the second portion and being isolated from one another, a wire passing through two of the plurality of holes of the tube, and a cap being engaged with an extrusion portion of the wire extruded from the two holes of the tube in a manner of enclosing the extrusion of the wire, being connected to one end of the tube, and having a greater rigidity than the first portion and the second portion of the tube. Accordingly, since the cap with a greater rigidity than the tube is connected to an end of the tube of the catheter, unlike the conventional catheter, the catheter does not suffer a problem of deformed cross section of the tube when the tensile force is exerted on the wire. As a result, it is possible to efficiently inject medication (rinsing fluids), and efficiently insert or adjust an endoscope, through the holes of the tube.