Patient-Specific Catheter Routing System for Tortuous Vasculature
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Current catheter systems face challenges in navigating the complex and tortuous vasculature of patients, particularly in older individuals with atherosclerotic disease, due to the need for a balance between flexibility and stiffness, which can lead to procedural delays and complications during endovascular procedures like stroke treatment.
Innovation Solution
A system that uses scan data to determine the optimal catheter route and properties based on patient-specific vasculature, including thickness, elasticity, and stiffness, to select the most suitable catheter and technique for each patient, and provides a simulation environment for training and real-time feedback during procedures.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Stability of the object's composition
If the catheter is made stiffer to hold position during intervention, then the catheter can maintain stability, but it may cause damage to surrounding tissue and increase procedural time
Solution Approach 1:
The catheter is designed with varying stiffness along its length, with the distal tip being more flexible to navigate tortuous vessels and the proximal shaft being stiffer to maintain position and support intervention tools. This gradient stiffness design allows the catheter to simultaneously achieve navigation flexibility and positional stability without causing tissue damage.
Solution Approach 2:
The catheter is divided into multiple segments with different mechanical properties. The distal segment is designed to be highly flexible for navigating complex vasculature, while intermediate and proximal segments have progressively increased stiffness to provide support and stability during the intervention procedure.
2Ease of operation
If the catheter is made more flexible to navigate tortuous vessels, then the catheter can follow vessel curves, but it may fall back into other vessels and lose position
Solution Approach 1:
The catheter incorporates a stiffness gradient along its length, with the distal tip being highly flexible to navigate tortuous vessels and the proximal shaft being stiffer to maintain position. This local variation in mechanical properties allows the catheter to simultaneously achieve trackability and positional stability.
3Productivity
If a standard catheter design is used for all patients, then the procedure can be standardized, but it cannot account for individual anatomical variations and increased tortuosity in older patients
Solution Approach 1:
Patient-specific 3D models of the vasculature are created from imaging data before the procedure. These models allow the interventionalist to pre-plan the catheterization route, identify potential challenges such as acute angles or tortuous segments, and select or customize the appropriate catheter design beforehand, thereby improving procedural efficiency while accounting for individual anatomy.
Solution Approach 2:
The catheter design parameters such as stiffness, curvature, and tip shape can be customized based on the patient-specific 3D model. This allows the catheter to be optimized for each patient's unique vascular anatomy, improving both adaptability and procedural efficiency.
Data Source
Figure 1~2a
Figure 2b~2c
Figure 3~4b
AI summary
The invention relates to systems and methods enabling a personalized solution for allowing more efficient access to the carotid artery (or vertebral arteries) in patients needing endovascular/neurointervention procedures using catheter systems.