Deflection Control Catheter with Slit Rapid Exchange Segment
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Solution Overview
Problem
Percutaneous vascular procedures face challenges in accessing and positioning interventional devices due to anatomical variations, vessel tortuosity, and poor guide support, especially at bifurcations and in cases of stent placement or chronic total occlusions.
Innovation Solution
A catheter system with a rapid exchange segment and a side port, allowing for the support and deflection of guidewires and other medical devices into difficult-to-reach vessels, featuring a tubular element with a slit structure and a curved tip for navigating through a side port, providing both direction and support for device placement.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If a conventional catheter is used to access vessels, then the procedure is simple, but the catheter cannot navigate tortuous vessels or reach bifurcations effectively
Solution Approach 1:
The catheter is divided into multiple segments with different functional properties: a proximal segment for access, a rapid exchange segment with slit structure for guidewire manipulation, and a distal segment with deflection capability. This segmentation allows each part to perform its specific function optimally while working together to solve the contradiction between ease of operation and navigation capability.
Solution Approach 2:
The catheter incorporates a side port that provides an additional dimensional access route to reach bifurcations and side vessels. This side port allows the guidewire to be directed into branch vessels at angles that would be impossible with a conventional single-axis catheter, thereby enhancing navigation capability without compromising operational simplicity.
2Strength
If guide support is increased to improve device delivery, then the catheter becomes stiffer, but it cannot navigate tortuous vessels
Solution Approach 1:
The catheter employs local quality by providing varying degrees of stiffness in different segments. The proximal segment has sufficient stiffness to provide guide support for device delivery, while the distal segment and rapid exchange segment are more flexible to conform to tortuous vessel anatomy. This gradient in mechanical properties resolves the contradiction between strength and adaptability.
Solution Approach 2:
The catheter design allows dynamic adjustment of its mechanical properties through the rapid exchange mechanism. The slit structure in the rapid exchange segment enables the catheter to flex and adapt to vessel tortuosity during navigation, while maintaining structural integrity and guide support capability when needed for device delivery.
3Adaptability or versatility
If a side port is added to the catheter for bifurcation access, then the navigation capability improves, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The side port acts as an intermediary structure that simplifies access to bifurcations. Rather than requiring complex multi-lumen or articulated designs, the side port provides a straightforward additional access route that can be integrated into the existing catheter architecture with minimal added complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The rapid exchange segment with slit structure serves multiple functions: it allows guidewire manipulation, provides structural support, and facilitates the side port's function in reaching bifurcations. This multi-functionality reduces the need for separate specialized components, thereby limiting the increase in device complexity while maintaining enhanced navigation capability.
Data Source
AI summary
A deflection and support catheter provided for improved manipulation of elongated medical devices used during percutaneous procedures in difficult to reach situations. In particular, the deflection and support catheters can facilitate placement of guidewires, guide catheters, and intervention devices such as angioplasty balloons and stent delivery devices.