Catheter Control Handle Advancing Mechanism
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Catheter shafts lack sufficient stiffness for easy advancement and manipulation, particularly near the tip, and existing solutions require separate handling of stiffening wires, lacking an internal mechanism for advancement within the catheter.
Innovation Solution
A catheter with a control handle and a lumened catheter body featuring a threaded member, adjustment member, and guided member to advance and retract a stiffening wire or other devices internally, utilizing a helical guide channel for controlled movement.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If the catheter shaft is made flexible to maintain overall softness, then the catheter can navigate body passages easily, but the shaft lacks sufficient stiffness for easy advancement and manipulation
Solution Approach 1:
The catheter shaft is segmented into multiple sections with different stiffness characteristics. A stiffening wire is inserted through the catheter body to provide localized stiffness support, while the rest of the shaft remains flexible. This segmentation allows the shaft to be advanced easily while maintaining overall flexibility for navigation.
Solution Approach 2:
The stiffening wire is nested within the catheter shaft, with the wire having a smaller diameter than the catheter's internal lumen. This nested configuration allows the stiffening element to be contained within the flexible catheter body, providing structural support without compromising the overall flexibility and navigability of the device.
2Ease of operation
If stiffening wires are added to provide shaft stiffness, then advancement becomes easier, but separate handling and manipulation are required
Solution Approach 1:
The stiffening wire and catheter shaft are combined into a single integrated device. The wire is pre-loaded within the catheter body and can be advanced or retracted through the shaft using the existing control handle mechanism, eliminating the need for separate handling of the stiffening wire and simplifying the overall manipulation process.
Solution Approach 2:
The catheter shaft provides its own stiffening support through the integrated wire mechanism. The wire is automatically positioned and maintained within the shaft, providing continuous structural support without requiring external assistance or separate manipulation steps. The system serves itself by maintaining the stiffening element in place throughout the procedure.
3Ease of operation
If the catheter shaft is made stiffer to improve manipulation, then advancement becomes easier, but flexibility near the tip is compromised
Solution Approach 1:
The catheter shaft exhibits local quality variations in stiffness along its length. The stiffening wire provides increased rigidity in the proximal and mid sections to facilitate manipulation and advancement, while the distal tip section maintains higher flexibility to allow for navigation through complex body passages and precise positioning at the target site.
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
Enables controlled advancement and retraction of stiffening wires or needles within the catheter, improving stiffness and flexibility while minimizing kinking, allowing for better manipulation and tip control during procedures.
Implementation Method 1
The adjustment member is rotatable over the threaded member by the user to move the guided member in the channel thereby controlling the advancement and retraction of the device attached to the guided member
Data Source
AI summary
A catheter having an internal advancing mechanism that can advance stiffening wires or other devices, has a catheter with a catheter body, a tip section distal the catheter body, a device extending through at least the catheter body, and a control handle proximal the catheter body, where the control handle has an advancing mechanism with a threaded member, an adjustment member, and a guided member to which the device is connected, and the advancing mechanism is configured to advance and retract the device along the catheter body as controlled by a user. Each of the threaded member and the adjustment member has a generally cylindrical configuration. The threaded member has an outer surface configured with a helical guide channel. The adjustment member is configured to guide the guided member to move within the helical guide channel to advance and retract the device. The adjustment member can be rotatable over the threaded member by the user to control advancement and retraction of the device. The device may be a stiffener wire, a needle or any other device suitable for advancement and retraction in a catheter.