Electrostatic Clot Retrieval System for Tortuous Vasculature
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing medical procedures for removing obstructions from body lumens, such as clots from blood vessels, face challenges including detachment of clots during retrieval, particularly in tortuous anatomy, leading to potential blockage of smaller vessels and increased procedure duration, with current methods like stent-assisted thrombectomy risking incomplete clot removal and dislodgement.
Innovation Solution
An interventional element with a positive electrical charge is integrated into a treatment system, utilizing a conductive coating and a core assembly to ensure uniform current distribution, enhancing clot adhesion and retention by attracting negatively charged blood components, thereby improving retrieval efficiency.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If a stent is deployed into the clot to push it to the side of the vessel, then blood flow is re-established, but the clot may detach during retrieval and block smaller vessels
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces the purely mechanical stent retrieval system with an electrostatically enhanced system. Electrical charges are applied to the interventional element to attract and hold the clot material through electrostatic forces, supplementing the mechanical retrieval mechanism and reducing clot detachment risk during withdrawal through tortuous anatomy.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the electrical charge parameter of the interventional element by applying electrical charges. This allows dynamic control of clot adhesion - the element can be charged to attract/hold the clot during retrieval, and the charge can be adjusted or removed to facilitate clot release at the target site, providing versatile control over the retrieval process.
2Ease of operation
If the stent is withdrawn through tortuous anatomy, then the clot can be retrieved, but the clot may dislodge due to mechanical forces
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces reliance on purely mechanical clot retention with an electrostatically enhanced system. Electrical charges applied to the interventional element create electrostatic attraction forces that hold the clot securely during withdrawal through tortuous anatomy, where mechanical forces would otherwise cause dislodgement.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces electrical charge as an intermediary force between the interventional element and the clot. This electrical intermediary provides a controllable attraction mechanism that bridges the gap between the device and clot, ensuring reliable retention during the complex mechanical movements required to navigate tortuous vasculature.
3Reliability
If multiple passages are performed to ensure complete clot removal, then retrieval reliability improves, but procedure duration increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses electrical charge parameters to enhance clot capture effectiveness in a single passage. By applying appropriate electrical charges to the interventional element, the system achieves more reliable and complete clot retention during retrieval, reducing or eliminating the need for multiple repeated passages and thereby shortening overall procedure time.
4Ease of manufacture
If the interventional element has non-uniform current distribution, then manufacturing is simpler, but clot adhesion effectiveness is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements non-uniform current distribution patterns along the interventional element, with different sections having different electrical charge densities. This local variation in electrical properties is optimized to match the specific requirements of different anatomical regions and clot characteristics, enhancing overall clot adhesion effectiveness while maintaining manufacturing feasibility through controlled deposition techniques.
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 ensures reliable clot capture and reduced passages required for complete retrieval, minimizing the risk of secondary blockages and reducing procedure time by maintaining consistent electrical charge across the interventional element.
Implementation Method 1
An interventional element with a positive electrical charge is integrated into a treatment system, utilizing a conductive coating and a core assembly to ensure uniform current distribution, enhancing clot adhesion and retention by attracting negatively charged blood components
Data Source
Figure 1A
Figure 1B~1C
Figure 2A
AI summary
Retrieval of material from vessel lumens can be improved by electrically enhancing attachment of the material to the removal device. The removal device can have a core assembly that includes a hypotube coupled to a first electrical terminal and a pushwire coupled to a second electrical terminal, the pushwire extending through the hypotube lumen. An insulating layer separates the hypotube and the pushwire, and an interventional element is coupled to a distal end of the pushwire. The interventional element can be disposed adjacent to a thrombus. An electrical signal is delivered to the interventional element to promote adhesion of the thrombus to the interventional element. The electrical signal can optionally be a periodic waveform, and the total energy delivered can be between 0.75-24,000 mJ and the peak current delivered via the electrical signal can be between 0.5-5 mA.