Nested Embolus Retrieval Shaft with Collection Basket
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current mechanical therapies for removing blood embolus from the pulmonary arteries are limited by the need for large catheters, which are difficult to navigate and pose risks to heart structures, and small catheters are ineffective for removing large emboli without breaking them into smaller fragments that can cause distal occlusion.
Innovation Solution
A low-profile catheter system with an embolus removal apparatus comprising a delivery catheter, an embolus collection basket with porous walls, and a retrieval shaft with a capture mechanism, allowing for the safe and effective removal of large blood emboli by expanding the collection basket to capture the embolus and then retracting it into the catheter.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If large catheters are used to remove large emboli, then the embolus can be removed intact without fragmentation, but the catheter becomes difficult to navigate through tortuous vasculature and poses risks to heart structures
Solution Approach 1:
The device employs a nested structure where the retrieval shaft with collection basket is inserted through the delivery catheter. The retrieval shaft can be advanced through the delivery catheter lumen to deploy the collection basket at the embolus location, then retracted back through the same delivery catheter to retrieve the embolus. This nested configuration allows the system to achieve large embolus removal capability while maintaining a low-profile delivery catheter that can navigate tortuous vasculature safely.
2Ease of operation
If small catheters are used to navigate tortuous vasculature, then catheter navigation is improved, but the catheter cannot remove large emboli without breaking them into smaller fragments
Solution Approach 1:
The device separates the delivery function from the retrieval function. The delivery catheter serves as a low-profile guide for navigation, while the retrieval shaft with expandable collection basket provides the large working diameter needed for intact embolus removal. This segmentation allows each component to be optimized for its specific function without compromise.
3Reliability
If large catheters are used for embolus removal, then embolus capture capability is improved, but the risk of damaging heart structures during navigation increases
Solution Approach 1:
The retrieval shaft with large collection basket is nested within the low-profile delivery catheter during navigation through the heart. This allows the device to pass through tortuous vasculature and across valves with minimal risk, then the retrieval shaft can be advanced further to deploy the collection basket at the embolus site where sufficient space exists for intact embolus capture.
4Object-affected harmful factors
If catheter-based thrombolysis is used, then treatment can be delivered locally with reduced systemic effects, but the procedure requires invasive catheterization with associated risks and high costs
Solution Approach 1:
The device replaces the chemical thrombolytic system with a mechanical retrieval system. Instead of using thrombolytic agents that require invasive catheterization and carry risks of hemorrhagic complications, the mechanical collection basket directly removes the embolus through a low-profile delivery catheter, eliminating the need for drug delivery infrastructure and reducing procedural complexity.
Data Source
AI summary
The present disclosure relates to devices and methods for removing emboli from one or more blood vessels. In an example, an embolus removal apparatus includes a delivery catheter, an embolus collection basket connected to a basket shaft extending through the delivery catheter, a retrieval shaft extending through the delivery catheter, and at least one capture mechanism configured to couple an embolus to a distal portion of the retrieval shaft. The retrieval shaft is can be navigated, with the embolus carried thereby, toward and into a cavity of the basket, and can optionally release the embolus in the basket and optionally be navigated to capture and direct another embolus, if required, to the basket. Once all emboli are collected in the basket's cavity, the apparatus can be retrieved from the patient's body with the emboli captured therein.