Electroactive Polymer Pump for Compact Medical Fluid Delivery
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional medical pumps require large housings and complex mechanical mechanisms, limiting their use in certain medical procedures due to size and complexity constraints.
Innovation Solution
The use of electroactive polymer (EAP) actuators, which can change shape upon energy application, to create a pumping action within a flexible tubular member or around a central hub, allowing for compact and remotely controlled fluid delivery systems.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If conventional mechanical pumps with motors and gears are used, then reliable pumping action is achieved, but device size and structural complexity increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces conventional mechanical motors and gears with electroactive polymer (EAP) actuators that convert electrical energy directly to mechanical motion through electrochemical reactions. The EAP actuators eliminate the need for complex mechanical transmission components while maintaining reliable pumping action through direct actuation of the pump chamber walls.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the actuation mechanism from mechanical rotation to electrochemical shape change. The EAP actuators undergo volume expansion and contraction in response to electrical stimulation, fundamentally changing the operational parameters from rotational speed and torque to electrical voltage and ionic fluid concentration.
2Volume of stationary object
If conventional pumps with large housings are used, then adequate space for mechanical components is provided, but adaptability to constrained medical procedure spaces is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts and eliminates the large stationary housing by integrating the pump mechanism into a flexible catheter structure. The pump chambers are formed directly within the catheter wall, removing the need for external housing and enabling deployment in constrained anatomical spaces.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent transitions from a rigid housing to a flexible, dynamic catheter structure that can adapt its shape and size to navigate through bodily passages and conform to anatomical structures. The flexible material allows the pump to be compressed for delivery and expanded for operation in situ.
3Reliability
If peristaltic pumps with rotating rollers are used, then fluid transport is achieved without direct contact, but cross-contamination risk remains and device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces the rotating roller mechanism with EAP actuators embedded in the catheter wall that expand and contract to create peristaltic motion. This eliminates mechanical contact points that could contaminate fluid while maintaining the non-contact pumping principle through distributed actuation along the catheter length.
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 development of compact, implantable, and remotely controllable fluid delivery systems that can be used in various medical procedures without the need for large housings or complex gear arrangements, improving the usability of pumps in medical applications.
Implementation Method 1
The actuators can be formed from a variety of materials. In one exemplary embodiment, at least one of the actuators is in the form of an electroactive polymer (EAP). For example, the actuator can be in the form of a fiber bundle having a flexible conductive outer shell with several electroactive polymer fibers and an ionic fluid disposed therein.
Data Source
AI summary
Methods and devices for pumping fluid are disclosed herein. In one exemplary embodiment, a pump is provided having a first member with a passageway formed therethrough, and a plurality of electrically expandable actuators in communication with the first member and adapted to change shape upon the application of energy thereto such that sequential activation of the activators can create a pumping action to move fluid through the first member.