Catheter Support Member Stiffness Transition
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Current medical device delivery systems face challenges in maintaining the patency of treated vessels due to re-occlusion and vessel wall weakening after procedures like angioplasty, and existing stents may kink or bend during navigation, complicating deployment.
Innovation Solution
A catheter system with a retaining member and support member that securely holds an expandable medical device, such as a stent, in place during delivery, preventing rotation and longitudinal movement, and providing a gradual stiffness transition to prevent kinking, ensuring predictable deployment and structural support.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If a stent is loaded onto a catheter for delivery, then the stent can be navigated to the treatment site, but the stent may kink or bend during navigation through tortuous vasculature
Solution Approach 1:
The support member is received within the expandable medical device (stent) in a nested configuration, providing internal structural support during navigation while allowing the stent to maintain its shape. The support member extends from the retaining member and is configured to be received within the expandable medical device, creating a protective internal framework that prevents kinking during delivery through tortuous vasculature.
2Reliability
If the retaining member provides strong retention of the expandable medical device, then rotational movement is prevented, but there may be an abrupt stiffness transition causing navigation difficulties
Solution Approach 1:
The support member creates a gradual stiffness transition zone between the retaining member and the inner member. The support member has intermediate stiffness properties that bridge the gap between the stiff retaining member (which provides strong retention) and the more flexible inner member (which enables navigation). This local quality variation allows the system to simultaneously achieve reliable retention and ease of navigation through tortuous vasculature.
Data Source
Figure 1~2
Figure 3A~3B
Figure 3C
AI summary
In some examples, a catheter defines a longitudinal axis and includes an inner member, a retaining member, and a support member. The inner member has an outer wall, and a portion of the inner member has a first stiffness. The retaining member defines a pocket configured to receive a connecting member of an expandable medical device. The retaining member has a second stiffness that is different from the first stiffness. The support member extends distally from the retaining member. In some examples, the support member is configured to be received radially within the expandable medical device when the connecting member is received within the pocket. The support member is configured to provide a gradual transition between the first stiffness of the inner member and the second stiffness of the retaining member.