Catheter Electrode Assembly with Hinged Struts for Arterial Apposition
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing multi-electrode catheter systems face challenges in achieving optimal apposition of electrodes against the arterial wall during ablative procedures, which affects the performance of the catheter system.
Innovation Solution
The catheter system incorporates an electrode assembly with strategically positioned hinges and struts that allow for configurable bending, enabling the electrodes to move transversely outward from the longitudinal axis, facilitating a predictable and repeatable expanded configuration for improved apposition against the arterial wall.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Device complexity
If the electrode assembly uses a simple strut structure without hinges, then the device complexity is reduced, but the ability to achieve optimal apposition of electrodes against the arterial wall deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The strut is divided into multiple segments by introducing hinges at specific longitudinal locations. Each hinge allows independent angular adjustment, enabling the electrode assembly to conform to the arterial wall geometry while maintaining structural integrity. This segmentation resolves the contradiction by adding controlled complexity only where needed for apposition.
Solution Approach 2:
The hinge mechanisms transform the rigid strut into a dynamic structure that can adapt its configuration. The hinges enable the strut to bend and adjust its shape in response to arterial wall contours, providing the reliability needed for optimal electrode apposition while keeping the overall device design relatively simple.
2Reliability
If the electrode assembly is designed with hinges at different longitudinal distances, then the apposition capability is improved, but the manufacturing precision requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
Hinges are strategically positioned at specific longitudinal distances along the strut based on the expected geometry of the arterial wall and the desired electrode configuration. This localized placement of hinges provides the necessary apposition capability while concentrating manufacturing precision requirements only at these critical hinge locations rather than throughout the entire strut.
3Area of moving object
If the electrode assembly expands to a larger transverse distance, then the electrode spacing is improved for better coverage, but the device complexity increases due to additional hinges and struts
Solution Approach 1:
The electrode assembly with multiple hinges and struts is designed to collapse into a compact nested configuration during delivery, similar to a nested doll structure. Upon deployment, the hinges unfold to achieve the expanded transverse distance for optimal electrode spacing and coverage. This nesting principle allows the device to provide large electrode spacing when needed while maintaining a simple, low-profile delivery configuration.
Data Source
AI summary
An electrode assembly for a catheter system has a longitudinal axis, a proximal end and a distal end. Multiple struts extend coextensively with each other from the proximal end to the distal end of the electrode assembly. Each strut carries an electrode spaced longitudinally from the proximal end of the electrode assembly. The longitudinal spacing of one electrode from the proximal end of the electrode assembly is different from the longitudinal spacing of another electrode from the proximal end of the electrode assembly. The electrode assembly is configurable between a collapsed configuration and an expanded configuration, with the electrodes being transversely spaced from the longitudinal axis of the electrode assembly a greater distance in the expanded configuration than in the collapsed configuration. In the expanded configuration, the electrodes are transversely spaced from the longitudinal axis of the electrode assembly approximately the same distance.