Dynamic Medical Retrieval Basket for Narrow Urinary Tracts
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current medical retrieval baskets face difficulties in releasing captured material, particularly in narrow urinary tracts with stenosis and scar tissue, which can lead to invasive surgical procedures, and are challenging to maneuver around stones due to limited space and risk of tract rupture.
Innovation Solution
A retrieval device with a sheath, support members, and a movable member forming a conical basket that can transition between open and closed configurations, allowing for capture and release of biological or foreign material, featuring distal loops and a hollow member for easy maneuverability and material engagement.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the basket is expanded to capture a stone beyond the stenotic area, then the stone can be captured, but the diameter of the basket with the captured stone exceeds the diameter of the stenotic region, making withdrawal difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The basket is designed to dynamically change its configuration between expanded and collapsed states. The support members are flexible and can be repositioned to transition the basket from an expanded configuration (for capturing stones beyond stenotic areas) to a collapsed configuration (for withdrawing through narrow stenotic regions). This dynamic transformation allows the device to adapt its diameter to match the varying constraints of the urinary tract.
Solution Approach 2:
The basket structure is segmented into multiple movable support members that can independently adjust their positions. This segmentation allows the basket to collapse into a compact form by bringing the support members together, reducing the overall diameter to pass through stenotic regions, while still maintaining the capability to expand for stone capture.
2Reliability
If the basket is maneuvered around stones in narrow tracts, then stone capture is possible, but the tract lining may become attenuated and risk rupture
Solution Approach 1:
The support members are constructed from flexible materials that can conform to the contours of the urinary tract and stones. This flexibility allows the basket to navigate narrow and tortuous tracts without exerting excessive localized pressure on the attenuated tract lining, thereby reducing the risk of rupture while maintaining the ability to capture stones.
Solution Approach 2:
The basket can dynamically adjust its shape and size to match the varying diameter of the urinary tract. By collapsing to a smaller profile when passing through narrow segments and expanding only when necessary for capture, the device minimizes mechanical stress on the tract lining throughout the procedure.
3Ease of operation
If the basket is kept in a closed position for insertion through stenosis, then tract passage is facilitated, but maneuvering around stones becomes technically difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The basket employs a dynamic structure where the support members can be rapidly repositioned between collapsed and expanded configurations. This allows the device to transition from a low-profile closed state (for easy passage through stenosis) to an open state (for effective stone capture) without requiring complex manual manipulation, thereby reducing overall procedural complexity.
Data Source
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AI summary
A retrieval device includes a sheath having a distal end, and a plurality of support members extending distal of the distal end, the support members each including a distal loop. The retrieval device further includes a hollow member extending distal of the distal end, and a movable member extending distally from the hollow member and slidably extending through the distal loops of the support members.