Catheter Platform With Extensile Protrusions for Stable Lumen Positioning
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing catheter-based systems for therapy or measurement lack stability and flexibility, requiring constant imaging to maintain proper placement and aiming, and are inflexible in position or aiming angle, often leading to episodic medical procedures due to patient movement.
Innovation Solution
A catheter platform with extensile protrusions, such as balloons or nitinol fingers, that expand outwardly in opposite directions to stabilize and aim a medical device within the body lumen, allowing continuous therapy or measurement by minimizing blood flow disruption.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Stability of the object's composition
If a catheter is inserted into the body lumen without extensile protrusions, then the catheter is easy to insert and flexible, but the catheter lacks stability and requires constant imaging to maintain proper placement and aiming
Solution Approach 1:
The catheter is divided into functional segments: the main catheter body and separate extensile protrusions (balloons or nitinol fingers). These protrusions can be independently deployed from the catheter body, allowing the catheter to maintain its simple insertion profile while gaining stability through the added modular components when needed.
Solution Approach 2:
The extensile protrusions transition from a compressed/deflated state during insertion to an expanded/inflated state at the target site. This dynamic transformation allows the catheter to be flexible and easy to insert, then become stable and rigid when the protrusions are extended to contact the body lumen walls.
2Stability of the object's composition
If extensile protrusions are inflated to stabilize the catheter, then the catheter positioning and aiming become stable, but the blood flow is obstructed
Solution Approach 1:
The extensile protrusions are deployed locally at the target site within the body lumen rather than along the entire catheter length. This localized stabilization minimizes the impact on blood flow by only occluding a small segment of the lumen, while the rest of the blood flow path remains unobstructed.
Solution Approach 2:
The protrusions are inflated to just the extent necessary to contact the lumen walls and provide stable positioning and aiming. Over-inflation is avoided to minimize blood flow obstruction, using only the partial expansion needed to achieve the stabilization function.
3Duration of action of moving object
If traditional catheters are used without extensile protrusions, then the catheter structure is simple, but the medical procedures are episodic due to patient movement and device instability
Solution Approach 1:
The extensile protrusions are deployed in advance to establish stable positioning and aiming of the catheter before the medical procedure begins. This preliminary stabilization ensures that the catheter remains properly positioned throughout the procedure, enabling continuous treatment without interruption due to movement or drift.
Data Source
AI summary
Techniques described herein relate to a catheter platform for carrying a medical device into inside a body. The catheter platform may include a catheter, which during use, is inserted into a body lumen. The catheter platform may include at least two extensile protrusions extending from opposite walls of the catheter and configured to expand outwardly in opposite directions to be in touch with the walls of the body lumen to aim the medical device and provide stability of the catheter. In an embodiment in which the body lumen is blood vessel, the catheter platform is configured to preserve the cross-section of the lumen such that the effect on the blood flow is minimized. A variety of applications may be enabled by the catheter platform, including therapy, measurement, or other procedures that may require the medical device to be left inside the body for an extended time period.