Double-Balloon Ablation Catheter With Integrated Cooling
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing steam-based ablation systems risk overheating and burning healthy tissue due to excessive heat transfer through medical tool surfaces, and current cooling methods prolong treatment time by relying on natural processes or separate fluid delivery tools.
Innovation Solution
A catheter design with dual shafts and a balloon structure, integrated with a vapor generation system and control mechanism, allows for controlled inflation and vapor delivery to ablate tissue while preventing unwanted burning and enhancing cooling efficiency.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If steam is delivered through a channel within a body cavity to ablate tissue, then ablation therapy is effective, but healthy tissue may be overheated or burned due to excessive heat transfer through the channel surfaces
Solution Approach 1:
The catheter is divided into multiple functional segments: an outer shaft containing cooling channels, an inner shaft containing steam delivery channels, and a balloon structure. This segmentation allows independent control of cooling and heating functions, enabling effective tissue ablation while protecting healthy tissue from overheating through the separate cooling system
Solution Approach 2:
The outer shaft acts as an intermediary cooling element that surrounds the inner steam-delivering shaft. The cooling channels in the outer shaft provide a protective barrier that removes excess heat before it reaches healthy tissue, mediating between the hot steam delivery system and the surrounding healthy tissue
2Temperature
If natural cooling process is used after steam application, then treatment area is cooled, but treatment time is prolonged
Solution Approach 1:
The cooling function is merged directly into the catheter structure through the outer shaft with integrated cooling channels. This combines the ablation and cooling functions into a single device, eliminating the need for separate cooling tools and enabling rapid active cooling that significantly reduces treatment time compared to natural cooling processes
Solution Approach 2:
The passive natural cooling process is replaced with an active mechanical cooling system using forced convection through the cooling channels in the outer shaft. This substitution enables controlled, rapid cooling of the treatment area, dramatically reducing the time required compared to relying on natural heat dissipation
3Temperature
If separate medical tool is used to flush fluid for cooling, then treatment area can be cooled, but procedure complexity is increased
Solution Approach 1:
The catheter is designed as a multi-functional universal device that integrates both steam delivery for ablation and fluid delivery for cooling through its dual-shaft structure with separate channels. This single device performs multiple functions that would otherwise require separate tools, simplifying the procedure while maintaining effective cooling capability
Solution Approach 2:
The inner shaft containing steam delivery channels is nested within the outer shaft containing cooling channels. This nested configuration allows both functions to be housed within a single catheter structure, eliminating the need for separate cooling tools and reducing overall procedural complexity
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 system effectively prevents healthy tissue burning and reduces treatment time by integrating safety mechanisms and rapid cooling, ensuring precise and efficient ablation therapy.
Implementation Method 1
a heating element positioned within the handle and in fluid communication with the channel, wherein the heating element is adapted to heat water to a temperature sufficient to cause vaporization of the water
Implementation Method 2
delivering the vapor to a target tissue
Implementation Method 3
a balloon positioned between said first point and said second point
Data Source
AI summary
Ablation catheters and systems include coaxial catheter shafts with an inner lumen for delivering an ablative agent and an outer lumen for circulation of a cooling element about the catheter. Induction heating is used to heat a chamber and vaporize a fluid within by wrapping a coil about a ferromagnetic chamber and providing an alternating current to the coil. A magnetic field is created in the area surrounding the chamber which induces electric current flow in the chamber, heating the chamber and vaporizing the fluid inside. Positioning elements help maintain the device in the proper position with respect to the target tissue and also prevent the passage of ablative agent to normal tissues.