Intravascular Catheter Optical-Fiber Kink Detection for Accurate Placement
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Solution Overview
Problem
Catheters used in intravascular procedures can kink due to curvatures or vessel branchings, making it difficult for physicians to accurately place them, and existing pressure sensors provide ambiguous signals that can lead to misplacement.
Innovation Solution
A kink sensor using an optical fiber extending along the catheter length detects kinks by monitoring light coupling out of the fiber, triggering an alarm when a preset bend radius is reached, and is integrated with an evaluation device to provide feedback to the user.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If the catheter is made flexible to navigate curvatures and vessel branchings, then the ease of operation is improved, but the reliability deteriorates due to kinking and misplacement
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies preliminary action by incorporating an optical fiber sensor system before catheter placement that can detect kinks in real-time. The sensor is pre-installed along the catheter length to monitor bending radius, alerting operators before critical kinking occurs, thus preventing misplacement while maintaining catheter flexibility for navigation.
2Reliability
If the catheter is made more rigid to prevent kinking, then the reliability is improved, but the ease of operation deteriorates due to difficulty in navigating curvatures
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces the mechanical approach of increasing catheter rigidity with an optical sensing system. Instead of making the catheter mechanically resistant to kinking, an optical fiber sensor monitors the bending state, substituting mechanical reinforcement with an optical detection system that allows flexible navigation while maintaining reliability through real-time feedback.
3Measurement precision
If pressure sensors are used to monitor catheter placement, then the measurement capability is improved, but the reliability deteriorates due to ambiguous signals from kinks
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies segmentation by dividing the monitoring function into two independent sensor systems: pressure sensors for measuring physiological pressure and optical fiber sensors for detecting catheter geometry and kinks. This segmentation allows each sensor type to perform its specific function without interference, eliminating the ambiguity that occurred when a single sensor system tried to perform both functions.
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 kink sensor reliably detects and alerts kinks, allowing for precise catheter placement and preventing damage, ensuring continued functionality and accurate pressure measurements.
Implementation Method 1
A kink sensor using an optical fiber extending along the catheter length detects kinks by monitoring light coupling out of the fiber
Implementation Method 2
The pressure-sensitive glass membrane is deformed in dependence on the size of the pressure acting on the sensor head
Implementation Method 3
Through the reflection on the glass membrane, the light exiting from the optical fiber is modulatingly reflected and fed into the optical fiber again
Data Source
AI summary
A catheter (20), which can be part of an intravascular blood pump, possesses a kink sensor which extends over the total length of the catheter and comprises an optical fiber (28A). The optical fiber is attached to an evaluation device (100) which evaluates a preset light quantity transmitted through the optical fiber as to whether a part of the light quantity is coupled out of the optical fiber along the length of the optical fiber. This is interpreted as a kink event and displayed. The optical fiber preferably utilized for the kink sensor is the optical fiber of an optical pressure sensor.