Collapsible Tip Re-entry Catheter Friction Reduction
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Solution Overview
Problem
The challenge lies in withdrawing a catheter with a wire extended out of a side port, where there is insufficient space or excessive friction between the wire and catheter, preventing unhindered retraction while maintaining the wire's position.
Innovation Solution
A catheter with a distal portion that is radially collapsible, allowing it to yield to the wire and adopt a reduced profile, thereby reducing friction and enabling withdrawal without altering the wire's position.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the catheter maintains a standard rigid structure, then it provides structural stability and support, but it creates excessive friction and insufficient space for wire movement during withdrawal
Solution Approach 1:
The catheter transitions from a static rigid structure to a dynamic collapsible structure. The distal portion can change its radial dimension from an expanded configuration during deployment to a collapsed configuration during withdrawal, allowing the wire to move freely without excessive friction while maintaining structural stability when needed.
Solution Approach 2:
The catheter's radial dimension parameter is changed dynamically. The distal portion's outer diameter is reduced during withdrawal by collapsing the structure, creating sufficient space for wire movement and reducing friction, while maintaining the necessary structural integrity during the procedure.
2Ease of operation
If the catheter is made radially collapsible to reduce friction, then wire movement is improved, but structural support may be compromised
Solution Approach 1:
The catheter is divided into functional segments: a proximal portion that maintains structural support and a distal portion that is radially collapsible. This segmentation allows the structural support function to be separated from the wire movement function, with each segment optimized for its specific purpose.
Solution Approach 2:
Different portions of the catheter have different structural properties. The distal portion is designed with local quality characteristics that enable radial collapsibility for reduced friction, while the proximal portion maintains standard structural support properties. This localized differentiation resolves the contradiction between strength and ease of operation.
Data Source
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AI summary
A method and apparatus are disclosed for a catheter having a side-port through which a wire may be advanced. The catheter comprises a catheter body, the catheter body defining at least a primary catheter lumen and at least one side-port in communication with the primary catheter lumen, and a distal portion of the catheter extending distal to the at least one side-port, the side-port being configured to allow travel 5 of a wire or other component therethrough, wherein the distal portion of the catheter is radially collapsible.