Double-Ended Wire Guide With Break-Away Discontinuities
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current wire guides require a wide variety of sizes and shapes to accommodate different medical procedures, leading to extensive inventory needs, and existing technologies struggle with efficiently accessing and removing damaged wire guide ends during procedures, particularly in challenging occlusions.
Innovation Solution
A double-ended wire guide with break-away discontinuities near one or both ends, allowing for detachable ends with varying stiffness and hydrophilic properties, and a method for advancing and removing the wire guide through percutaneous entry points to facilitate access and treatment of occlusions, including the use of a wire guide engagement and withdrawal tool.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If a wide variety of wire guide sizes and shapes are maintained in inventory to accommodate different medical procedures, then the ability to address diverse medical needs is improved, but inventory complexity and storage requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The wire guide is divided into modular segments with break-away discontinuities at predetermined locations. The wire guide can be introduced in a complete form and then segmented during the procedure by applying force to break it at the discontinuity, allowing adaptation to different procedural needs without requiring multiple pre-configured wire guides in inventory.
Solution Approach 2:
The wire guide transitions from a static, fixed-length device to a dynamic, adjustable-length device. The break-away discontinuities enable the wire guide to change its effective length during the procedure, providing adaptability for different medical scenarios while using a single versatile device rather than multiple fixed variants.
2Adaptability or versatility
If the wire guide is advanced through challenging occlusions requiring significant force, then the ability to access difficult locations is improved, but the risk of damaging the wire guide end increases
Solution Approach 1:
Break-away discontinuities are pre-positioned near the ends of the wire guide during manufacturing. These predetermined weak points are prepared in advance to fail at specific locations when excessive force is applied, protecting the main body of the wire guide from damage while enabling access through challenging occlusions.
Solution Approach 2:
The potential harm of wire guide end damage during forceful advancement through occlusions is converted into a beneficial feature. The break-away discontinuities are designed to fail first, sacrificing the end portion to protect the valuable main body of the wire guide, thereby converting a potential failure mode into a protective mechanism.
3Ease of repair
If the wire guide end becomes damaged during the procedure, then the ability to continue the procedure is compromised, but with break-away discontinuities the ability to remove and replace the end is improved
Solution Approach 1:
The wire guide is segmented with break-away discontinuities that allow the end portion to be separated from the main body. If the end becomes damaged, it can be broken off at the discontinuity and a new end can be attached, enabling repair without replacing the entire wire guide and maintaining procedure continuity.
Solution Approach 2:
The damaged end portion is discarded by breaking it off at the discontinuity, while the valuable main body of the wire guide is recovered and reused. A new end can then be attached to the recovered wire guide body, allowing repair and continuation of the procedure without wasting the entire device.
Data Source
AI summary
A method of treating an occlusion in a body lumen of a patient is described. The method uses advancing a first end of a wire guide through the body lumen of the patient from an entry point towards a first side of an occlusion. The method also advances the first end of the wire guide through the occlusion to a second side of the occlusion. The method further advances the first end of the wire guide through a second entry point and out of the lumen. The method involves removing a portion of the first end of the wire guide extending outside the second percutaneous entry point to expose a modified terminal end of the wire guide.