Expandable Clot Capture Cage for Flow-Restoring Thrombectomy
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing treatments for thromboembolic events, such as embolectomy, surgery, and thrombectomy devices, are not always optimal in terms of clinical effectiveness, invasiveness, and cost, and there is a need for a minimally invasive device that can safely and effectively retrieve clots from blood vessels, especially in hard-to-reach locations like the neurovascular system.
Innovation Solution
A stent retriever device with an expandable capture cage made from shape memory metal or superelastic material, featuring a porous design to allow blood flow and a self-expanding mechanism, which can be delivered through tortuous vessels to capture and remove clots while minimizing disruption.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If traditional embolectomy or surgery is used to treat thromboembolic events, then clinical effectiveness is improved, but invasiveness increases and procedural complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The stent retriever device is nested within a delivery catheter system, allowing the expandable stent to be concealed during delivery and then deployed at the target location. This nesting approach enables complex functionality to be delivered through a minimally invasive catheter-based system rather than requiring open surgical procedures
Solution Approach 2:
The delivery catheter acts as an intermediary tool that guides and deploys the stent retriever device to the occlusion site. This intermediary system enables the treatment device to reach hard-to-access neurovascular locations without requiring direct surgical access to those vessels
2Reliability
If thrombectomy devices are used to remove clots, then clot removal capability is improved, but disruption to blood flow increases
Solution Approach 1:
The stent retriever is constructed with a porous structure that allows blood to flow through the device walls while the struts capture and hold the clot. This porous design enables the device to remove occluding clots while maintaining patency for non-occluding blood flow, minimizing ischemic risk to the tissue being supplied by the vessel
Solution Approach 2:
The stent transitions from a compressed low-profile state during delivery to an expanded high-profile state at the treatment site. This dynamic transformation allows the device to navigate through the vascular system in a minimally invasive manner and then expand to effectively capture the clot while maintaining blood flow through the porous structure
3Ease of operation
If self-expanding mechanism is used for the stent retriever, then ease of operation is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The stent utilizes shape memory metal or superelastic material properties that allow it to automatically expand from a compressed to an expanded state in response to changes in radial force parameters. This material-based mechanism eliminates the need for complex mechanical expansion systems while providing reliable self-expanding functionality
Solution Approach 2:
The stent retriever device is self-expanding through its shape memory or superelastic material properties, eliminating the need for external expansion mechanisms or complex actuation systems. The device automatically transitions to its functional expanded state once deployed, reducing the complexity of the overall system while maintaining ease of operation
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 device effectively retrieves clots with minimal ischemic risk, allowing for safe and efficient treatment of thromboembolic events in various vascular locations, including the brain, while maintaining blood flow and reducing procedural complexity.
Implementation Method 1
an expandable capture cage having a proximal end and a distal end, wherein the proximal end of the capture cage is coupled to the distal end of the elongate shaft, wherein the expandable capture cage has a compressed delivery configuration and an expanded treatment configuration
Implementation Method 2
featuring a porous design to allow blood flow and a self-expanding mechanism
Data Source
AI summary
Methods and devices for removing an obstruction from a vessel include an elongate flexible shaft with an expandable capture cage coupled to the distal end of the elongate flexible shaft. The expandable capture cage has an expanded configuration and a collapsed configuration. The collapsed configuration is adapted to be delivered through the vessel and the expanded configuration is adapted to be expanded in the vessel to enmesh the obstruction.