Double Threaded Guidance Wire for Vertebral Augmentation Balloon Reuse
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing kyphoplasty balloons made of ductile materials undergo permanent deformation during inflation, making them non-reusable and limiting the procedure's effectiveness in treating osteoporosis-related spine fractures.
Innovation Solution
A double-threaded guidance wire system that maintains the balloon's original length and stiffness by locking the balloon's distal thread to a nut within the catheter, allowing for multiple uses by either keeping the wire connected during inflation or reinserting it to restore the balloon's pre-inflation length.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If a ductile material is used for the balloon to allow expansion and deformation during inflation, then the balloon can be inflated to reduce fracture, but the balloon undergoes permanent deformation and cannot be reused
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies the dynamics principle by making the guidance wire configurable between a first configuration (connected to the balloon) and a second configuration (disconnected). This dynamic reconfiguration allows the system to adapt its mechanical properties during different phases of the procedure, enabling the balloon to be reused by restoring it to its original length through wire reconnection after inflation
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the physical state and configuration parameters of the guidance wire between connected and disconnected states. By altering the wire's configuration parameter, the system controls the balloon's mechanical behavior during inflation versus deflation phases, allowing the balloon to expand when needed and be restored to its original state for reuse
2Ease of operation
If the guidance wire is disconnected during balloon inflation, then the balloon can expand freely, but the balloon lengthens due to plastic deformation and cannot be reinflated
Solution Approach 1:
The guidance wire is designed with dynamic reconfigurability, allowing it to transition between connected and disconnected states. When disconnected during inflation, the balloon expands freely; when reconnected after deflation, the system restores the balloon to its original axial length, preventing permanent elongation and enabling reuse
3Length of moving object
If the guidance wire remains connected to the balloon during inflation, then the balloon length is maintained, but the wire may interfere with balloon expansion
Solution Approach 1:
The system dynamically reconfigures the guidance wire between connected and disconnected states based on the procedural phase. The wire is disconnected during inflation to prevent interference with balloon expansion, then reconnected after deflation to maintain length and enable reuse, thus resolving the conflict between length maintenance and expansion freedom
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
Enables the reuse of the balloon catheter in vertebral augmentation procedures, minimizing plastic deformation and maintaining the balloon's axial length, thus preserving its functionality for repeated use in treating multiple vertebral bodies.
Implementation Method 1
The guidance wire may have threaded portions that can be engaged to threaded nuts
Data Source
AI summary
A catheter device that includes a double-threaded guidance wire that allows multiple use of a compliant cavity creation device (i.e., treatment of more than one level). The double-threaded guidance wire may be connected with the luer part of the device and a distal part of the balloon using a threaded engagement to avoid lengthening of the inner tube, avoid lengthening of the balloon, and to limit the plastic deformation of the system in axial direction. In other implementations, the double-threaded guidance wire may be reconnected to the distal part of the balloon with a distal thread of the double-threaded guidance wire in order to restore the nominal length.