Intravenous Catheter Insertion Device with Retractable Guide Wire
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing intravenous catheter insertion devices face challenges in safely placing catheters in small, tortuous, collapsed, or fragile vessels, and they often lack effective mechanisms for preventing accidental punctures and contamination.
Innovation Solution
A catheter insertion device with a housing, a slideable access needle, a guide wire, and a handle, featuring a biasing element and release button for automatic withdrawal of the needle and guide wire into the housing, along with a restraining element to limit movement and ensure safety.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If the guide wire is made extendable and retractable to facilitate catheter placement in challenging vessels, then the ease of operation is improved, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The guide wire is nested within the catheter body, allowing it to be extended when needed for catheter placement in challenging vessels and retracted back into the catheter when not needed. This nesting arrangement provides the functionality of an extendable-retractable guide wire while maintaining a compact device structure.
Solution Approach 2:
The guide wire transitions from a static component to a dynamic one that can be extended and retracted as needed. This dynamic capability allows the guide wire to adapt to different procedural requirements, facilitating catheter placement in challenging vessels while only adding complexity when the extension mechanism is activated.
2Reliability
If automatic retraction mechanism is added to withdraw needle and guide wire into housing, then safety against accidental punctures is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The biasing element automatically propels the needle and guide wire back into the housing after catheter placement, without requiring manual intervention. This self-service mechanism enhances safety by ensuring automatic retraction of sharp components, reducing the risk of accidental punctures while minimizing the complexity of the retraction system.
Solution Approach 2:
The manual retraction process is replaced with an automatic mechanical system using a biasing element. This substitution eliminates the need for complex manual retraction mechanisms while providing reliable automatic safety retraction, improving reliability without proportionally increasing device complexity.
3Reliability
If the guide wire is constrained to prevent unintended movement, then reliability is improved, but ease of operation worsens
Solution Approach 1:
The guide wire constraint system is designed to be dynamic rather than static. The restraining element allows the guide wire to move freely when extension is desired for catheter placement, but automatically engages to prevent unintended movement when the guide wire is extended. This dynamic constraint maintains reliability while preserving ease of operation during intended use.
Solution Approach 2:
The restraining element is positioned and designed to prevent unintended proximal movement of the guide wire before it is extended. By providing preliminary anti-action against potential harmful movement, the system ensures reliability without interfering with the intended extension and manipulation of the guide wire during catheter placement.
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
The device facilitates safe placement of catheters in challenging vessels while preventing accidental punctures and contamination by ensuring the needle and guide wire are completely withdrawn into the housing, enhancing safety and ease of use.
Implementation Method 1
a biasing element adapted and configured that, when released, moves the guide wire from a position outside of the housing to a position within the housing
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2
Figure 3
AI summary
A catheter insertion device is provided with a housing (1). A catheter (13) and a needle (8) are provided and a guide wire (11) is supported by and moveable relative to the needle. A thumbwheel (21) is provided to move the guide wire.