Catheter with Slit and Movable Sheath for Guide Wire Alignment
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing catheters face difficulties in being introduced into hollow organs, such as bile ducts and pancreatic ducts, due to obstacles like constrictions and occlusions, particularly when using the rendezvous technique, as they often require a guide wire to be aligned parallel to the catheter axis for smooth insertion, which is challenging with traditional hooking mechanisms.
Innovation Solution
A catheter design featuring a sheath and a catheter main body with a slit and tapered portion that allows for elastic deformation, enabling easy insertion and alignment of the guide wire along the longitudinal axis, with a movable sheath and operating unit to manage the slit's opening width for secure wire holding and smooth advancement.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a bending portion is used to hook the guide wire, then the guide wire can be captured and retained, but an angle is formed between the catheter axis and guide wire axis making insertion difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The catheter is pre-shaped with a curved tip section that naturally aligns with the guide wire axis when the guide wire is captured. This preliminary configuration eliminates the need for post-capture angle adjustment, allowing parallel alignment between catheter and guide wire axes during insertion into the duodenal papilla
Solution Approach 2:
The catheter tip is designed with a specific curvature that matches the intended path of the guide wire. This curved configuration allows the catheter to follow the guide wire's trajectory naturally, maintaining parallel alignment between the catheter axis and guide wire axis during the rendezvous procedure
2Stability of the object's composition
If the catheter structure is rigid to maintain shape, then structural stability is achieved, but flexibility to adapt to anatomical variations is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The catheter is divided into distinct segments with different mechanical properties: a rigid proximal section for stability and control, and a flexible distal section with curved tip for navigation and adaptation. This segmentation allows the catheter to maintain overall shape stability while adapting to anatomical variations in the duodenal papilla region
Solution Approach 2:
Different portions of the catheter are designed with locally optimized properties: the tip section has enhanced flexibility and curvature for navigating anatomical variations, while the main body maintains sufficient rigidity for stable insertion and guide wire retention. This local quality differentiation resolves the contradiction between shape stability and anatomical adaptability
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 catheter facilitates easy and secure insertion into hollow organs by allowing parallel alignment of the guide wire and catheter axis, overcoming the challenges of constrictions and occlusions, and ensuring stable wire holding and smooth advancement during procedures.
Implementation Method 1
The distal end portion of the catheter main body is elastically deformed by being pressed by an inner peripheral surface of the sheath
Data Source
AI summary
A catheter can include a catheter main body and a sheath that covers the catheter main body and can move along the longitudinal axis with respect to the catheter main body. An operating unit can be disposed at a proximal end portion of the sheath and can move the sheath and the catheter main body with respect to one another. The catheter main body can include a slit on an outer peripheral surface of a distal end portion and can extend along the longitudinal axis from a slit distal end to a slit proximal end side. An outside diameter of the distal end portion of the catheter main body is larger than an inside diameter of a distal end portion of the sheath when the distal end portion of the catheter main body is housed in the sheath.