Catheter Tip Axial Extension for Joining Strength
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Solution Overview
Problem
Catheters face issues with the tip being easily removed from the shaft or breaking at the boundary portion due to low joining strength and stress concentration, particularly when navigating stenosis sites or strongly bent vessels.
Innovation Solution
A catheter design featuring a shaft with multiple reinforcing layers and an extended rear end portion of the tip joined to the intermediate and outer layers, providing increased joining strength and anchoring effects to prevent tip removal and breakage.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Device complexity
If the tip is only joined to the distal end of the catheter shaft, then the catheter structure is simple, but the joining strength between the catheter shaft and the tip is small causing tip removal during operation
Solution Approach 1:
The tip is extended in the axial direction to form a rear end portion that joins to the catheter shaft at multiple positions along the axis, transforming a single-point joining structure into a multi-point distributed joining structure, thereby increasing joining strength without significantly complicating the overall device
2Ease of manufacture
If the tip is only joined to the distal end of the catheter shaft, then the manufacturing process is simple, but the tip is easily removed when caught by a stenosis site during operation
Solution Approach 1:
The tip is pre-formed with an extended rear end portion during the manufacturing process, which is then joined to the catheter shaft at multiple positions. This preliminary structuring of the tip allows for reliable multi-point attachment without requiring complex assembly steps, maintaining manufacturing simplicity while improving tip retention reliability
3Adaptability or versatility
If stress is concentrated on the boundary portion between the tip and catheter shaft during insertion into bent vessels, then the catheter can navigate complex vasculature, but the tip breaks at the boundary portion
Solution Approach 1:
The tip is segmented into a distal end portion and a rear end portion, with the rear end portion extending axially to join the catheter shaft at multiple positions. This segmentation distributes the stress that would otherwise concentrate at a single boundary, allowing the catheter to navigate bent vessels while preventing tip breakage through stress distribution across multiple joining points
Data Source
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AI summary
[Problem] The present invention aims at providing a catheter in which the tip is hardly removed from the catheter shaft or a break hardly occurs at a boundary portion between the tip and the catheter shaft. [Solution] In a catheter 1, a tip 70 includes a rear end portion 80 extended in an axis direction and joined to at least an intermediate layer 30 and an outer layer 50, between a first coil body 20 that is the first reinforcing layer and a second coil body 40 that is the second reinforcing layer. The rear end portion 80 extended in the axis direction is joined to the intermediate layer 30 and the outer layer 50, which increases joining strength between the intermediate layer 30 and the tip 70 and joining strength between the outer layer 50 and the tip 70 (in other words, increases joining strength between the catheter shaft 60 and the tip 70). As a result, it is possible to prevent the tip 70 from being removed easily from the catheter shaft 60.