Catheter Cuff Deployment Device for Adjustable Placement
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing catheter assemblies with fixed cuff positions are not adaptable to varying tunnel sizes and clinician preferences, requiring multiple catheter supplies and potentially complicating procedures by necessitating distal end trimming, which can damage the catheter's atraumatic profile.
Innovation Solution
A catheter assembly with a cuff deployment device that is movable along the catheter's longitudinal axis, featuring a deployment mechanism that actuates to fix the cuff at a selected axial location, allowing for adjustable cuff placement without altering the catheter's distal tip features, using a hollow cylindrical housing and a telescopically movable plunger to position and secure the cuff.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If the cuff is provided at a fixed axial location along the catheter, then the catheter structure is simple, but the adaptability to varying tunnel sizes and clinician preferences is poor
Solution Approach 1:
The catheter system is divided into separate functional components: a catheter body with a movable cuff deployment device that can be independently positioned along the catheter length. The cuff itself is separable from the catheter body, allowing it to be deployed at different locations based on procedural needs rather than being fixed during manufacturing.
Solution Approach 2:
The cuff transitions from a static, fixed position during manufacturing to a dynamic, adjustable position during deployment. The deployment device includes a movable component that allows the cuff to be repositioned along the catheter's longitudinal axis before final deployment, enabling adaptation to different tunnel sizes and clinician preferences.
2Adaptability or versatility
If multiple catheter supplies with cuffs at varying axial locations are provided, then the adaptability to different procedures is improved, but the device complexity and inventory management become more complex
Solution Approach 1:
A single catheter design incorporates a universal deployment mechanism that can position the cuff at multiple axial locations along the catheter body. This multi-functional capability allows one catheter type to serve multiple procedural needs, eliminating the requirement for multiple specialized catheter supplies with pre-fixed cuffs at different locations.
3Ease of operation
If the distal end of the catheter is trimmed to achieve desired cuff-to-distal tip distance, then the cuff positioning is adjusted, but the atraumatic profile of the distal tip is compromised
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of adjusting cuff position by trimming the catheter length in one dimension (axial reduction), the system uses a deployment mechanism that moves the cuff along the existing catheter length. This approach adjusts the cuff-to-distal-tip distance without compromising the distal tip's atraumatic features, as the tip remains intact and undamaged.
Data Source
AI summary
A catheter assembly includes a catheter having an elongate tubular body defining a lumen extending from an open proximal end to an open distal end. A cuff deployment device is concentrically supported on the elongate tubular body and is movable along a longitudinal axis of the elongate tubular body. The cuff deployment device includes a deployment mechanism having an actuated position and a non-actuated position. A cuff has a hollow cylindrical body defining an internal catheter engagement surface. The catheter assembly has a first configuration in which the deployment mechanism is in the non-actuated position and the cuff is supported by and movable with the cuff deployment device, and a second configuration in which the deployment mechanism is in the actuated position and the cuff is concentrically mounted at a fixed axial location of the elongate tubular body and is free of contact with the cuff deployment device.