Coil Guide Wire Hydrophilic Coating Moisture Pooling
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional guide wires with hydrophilic coatings fail to exhibit sufficient lubricity in environments with little moisture, such as inside chronic total occlusions, due to stagnation of moisture supply.
Innovation Solution
A guide wire with a coating comprising two layers, where a hydrophobic film is positioned between the coils and a hydrophilic film above, forming spaces to pool and retain moisture, ensuring lubricity even in low-moisture environments.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If a hydrophilic coating film is applied to the coil body to increase lubricity, then lubricity is improved in moist environments, but lubricity deteriorates in environments with little moisture such as inside CTO lesions
Solution Approach 1:
The coating is divided into multiple functional layers: a lowermost hydrophobic film layer and upper hydrophilic film layers. The hydrophobic layer segments the coating structure to create spaces between coil wires that can pool moisture, while the hydrophilic layers provide lubricity at the surface. This segmentation allows the coating to function in both moist and low-moisture environments.
Solution Approach 2:
Different regions of the coating have different properties: the lowermost layer is hydrophobic to repel water and create moisture-pooling spaces, while the upper layers are hydrophilic to provide lubricity. This local differentiation of properties enables the coating to maintain lubricity in low-moisture environments by utilizing the moisture-pooling function of the hydrophobic layer.
2Device complexity
If a single-layer hydrophilic coating is used, then the structure is simple, but sufficient lubricity cannot be maintained in low-moisture environments due to lack of moisture retention
Solution Approach 1:
The coating uses composite material structure with at least two different polymer materials: a hydrophobic polymer for the lowermost layer and hydrophilic polymers for the upper layers. This composite structure combines the moisture-pooling capability of hydrophobic materials with the lubricity-providing capability of hydrophilic materials, ensuring reliable lubricity maintenance in low-moisture environments.
Solution Approach 2:
The coating structure nests multiple layers with different functions: the hydrophobic layer is nested at the bottom to create moisture-pooling spaces, while hydrophilic layers are nested above to provide lubricity. This nested structure allows the inner hydrophobic layer to support the outer hydrophilic layers, enabling the coating to function reliably in low-moisture environments.
3Speed
If the hydrophilic film is in direct contact with the coil body, then moisture can be quickly absorbed, but moisture supply becomes stagnant in low-moisture environments
Solution Approach 1:
The hydrophobic lowermost layer performs preliminary action by pooling moisture in spaces between coil wires before the moisture is needed by the hydrophilic layers. This preliminary moisture pooling ensures that when the guide wire is inserted into a low-moisture environment like a CTO lesion, the hydrophilic layers have already have moisture available to maintain lubricity throughout the procedure.
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 guide wire effectively maintains lubricity by supplying pooled moisture to the hydrophilic film, even in environments with limited external moisture, allowing for smooth insertion and prolonged procedures without moisture discharge.
Implementation Method 1
the lowermost layer film of the coating portion is a hydrophobic film
Implementation Method 2
the upper layer film above the lowermost layer film of the coating portion is a hydrophilic film
Implementation Method 3
spaces are formed between the hydrophilic film and the sections in which the hydrophobic film are arranged to come between the wires of the coil body, it is possible to pool moisture within these spaces
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2
Figure 3A~3B
AI summary
To provide a guide wire having its coil body covered with a hydrophilic coating film capable of exhibiting sufficient lubricity even in a situation where there is little moisture in its surroundings. In a coil-type guide wire (1), coating portion (10) is formed by stacking a plurality of films where film (10a) of the lowermost layer is a hydrophobic film and the film of the top layer thereof is hydrophilic film (10b). Furthermore, film (10a) of the lowermost layer of coating portion (10) is arranged to come between wires (7) of coil body (6) and spaces (20) are formed between film (10b) of the top layer thereof and the sections where the film (10a) is arranged between the wires. Due to forming the spaces (20), it is possible to pool moisture in the spaces (20) and in cases when moisture in the surroundings thereof becomes less, it is possible to supply the moisture pooled in the spaces (20) to hydrophilic film (10b). As a result, even in a situation where there is little moisture in the surroundings, is becomes possible to exhibit a sufficient amount of lubricity.