Corrugated RF Ablation Catheter with Adjustable Electrode Frame
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing radiofrequency ablation catheters have limited adaptability to blood vessels with varying diameters, leading to suboptimal electrode attachment and surgical effectiveness due to fixed expanding and retracting sizes that do not match individual patient anatomy.
Innovation Solution
A corrugated radiofrequency ablation catheter with a wall-attaching adjustment wire, featuring a corrugated electrode frame and a sliding wire mechanism that allows for diameter adjustment by pulling the adjustment wire, enabling electrodes to be securely attached to vessel walls of different diameters.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If the expanding and retracting size of the electrode frame is fixed, then the structure is simple and easy to manufacture, but the adaptability to blood vessels with different diameters is limited
Solution Approach 1:
The electrode frame is designed with dynamic adjustability through the wall-attaching adjustment wire mechanism. The frame can change its expanding and retracting size dynamically to adapt to different blood vessel diameters, transforming from a fixed structure to an adjustable one. This resolves the contradiction by enabling size adaptation while maintaining operational simplicity through the wire-driven mechanism.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the physical parameter of the electrode frame size by introducing the adjustment wire system. By pulling or releasing the wall-attaching adjustment wire, the expanding and retracting size parameter of the frame can be modified to match different blood vessel diameters, thus improving adaptability without requiring multiple fixed-size devices.
2Reliability
If the electrode frame size is fixed, then the device is easier to operate, but the electrode attachment to vessel walls of different diameters is insufficient
Solution Approach 1:
The electrode frame transitions from a static fixed-size structure to a dynamic adjustable structure controlled by the wall-attaching adjustment wire. This allows the frame to adapt its size to ensure reliable electrode attachment to vessel walls of different diameters, while the operation remains simple through the intuitive wire-pulling mechanism.
Solution Approach 2:
The adjustment wire mechanism allows the operator to self-adjust the frame size to match the vessel diameter, ensuring proper electrode attachment without requiring complex control systems or multiple pre-configured devices. The system serves itself by providing adjustable geometry through a simple mechanical advantage mechanism.
3Adaptability or versatility
If multiple catheter specifications are used to cover different vessel diameters, then the coverage is improved, but the device complexity and inventory requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent creates a universal catheter design where a single electrode frame model can serve multiple functions by adjusting its expanding and retracting size to match different blood vessel diameters. The wall-attaching adjustment wire enables one device to replace multiple fixed-size catheters, improving versatility while reducing inventory complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
By making the electrode frame dynamically adjustable in size, the patent eliminates the need for multiple static catheter models. The single catheter can adapt to various vessel diameters through the adjustment wire mechanism, thereby achieving broad coverage without increasing the number of device models.
Data Source
Figure 1A~2
Figure 3
Figure 3A~4
AI summary
A corrugated radio frequency ablation catheter having wall-attaching adjustment wires (6, 6A, 6B, 6A', and 6B'), provided with a strip-shaped connecting catheter, an electrode frame provided at the front extremity of the connecting catheter, and a control handle (20) provided at the rear extremity of the connecting catheter. The electrode frame is a corrugated electrode frame consisting of one or more corrugations, where one or more electrodes (2) respectively are distributed on the corrugations. The rear sections of the wall-attaching adjustment wires (6, 6A, 6B, 6A', and 6B') are slidably provided within one lumen of the connecting catheter and are connected at the rear extremities (60) onto a control element (22) provided on the control handle (20) or connected onto a control element (22) provided outside of the control handle (20). The front sections of the wall-attaching adjustment wires (6, 6A, 6B, 6A', and 6B') protrude to the outside of the electrode frame and either run through one or more holes (11, 12, 13, and 14) provided on the corrugations or run around the multiple corrugations, and then the front extremities return to the interior of the electrode frame. By pulling back the wall-attaching adjustment wires (6, 6A, 6B, 6A', and 6B'), substantial changes in the diameters of the corrugations of the electrode frame are allowed.