Endovascular Prosthesis Fixation Without Metallic Endoskeleton
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Current endovascular devices for repairing aortic aneurysms face challenges due to insufficient neck length, requiring complex procedures and limited applicability in patients with short necks, and are hindered by the stiffness of metallic endoskeletons that do not conform well to tortuous vessels, limiting repositionability and alignment with branch vessels.
Innovation Solution
A tubular prosthesis with inflatable cuffs and fenestrations, attached to a deployment catheter, allows for fixation and sealing without a metallic endoskeleton, enabling precise alignment and repositioning, and maintaining blood flow during deployment, using bioinert materials and a valve system for inflation control.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Strength
If a metallic endoskeleton is used for fixation, then fixation strength is improved, but device flexibility and ability to conform to tortuous vessels deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent removes the metallic endoskeleton from the endograft structure entirely. The fixation is achieved through the graft material itself and its interaction with the aortic wall, eliminating the stiff metal framework that prevented conforming to tortuous vessels while maintaining adequate fixation strength.
Solution Approach 2:
The endograft uses a flexible fabric or thin film structure without rigid metallic support. This flexible shell allows the device to conform to the natural curvature and tortuosity of the aorta while providing sufficient fixation through the graft's interaction with the vessel wall.
2Reliability
If a metallic endoskeleton is used for fixation, then fixation reliability is improved, but device repositionability deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
By removing the metallic endoskeleton, the device eliminates the permanent structural framework that prevents repositioning. The softer, more compliant structure allows the endograft to be moved and repositioned during deployment while still achieving reliable fixation when in the correct position.
3Adaptability or versatility
If complex branched endografts with multiple guidewires are used, then ability to treat short necks is improved, but procedural complexity and difficulty deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent eliminates the complex system of multiple guidewires, fenestrations, and branch limbs by using a simple tubular endograft without these features. The procedure is simplified to single-guidewire deployment while maintaining the ability to treat short-necked aneurysms through alternative positioning techniques.
Solution Approach 2:
Instead of using a complex device with pre-formed branches and fenestrations that require precise alignment, the patent uses a simple tubular structure that can be positioned and oriented after deployment. This inverts the approach: rather than forcing the device to match the anatomy through complex pre-shaping, the simple device is adapted to the anatomy through post-deployment positioning.
4Reliability
If fenestrated endografts are used, then ability to maintain branch vessel flow is improved, but alignment precision requirements and procedural difficulty deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent removes the fenestrations and branch limbs entirely, using a simple tubular endograft. Branch vessel flow is maintained through alternative methods such as preserving flow in the proximal aorta or using adjunctive techniques, eliminating the need for precise fenestration alignment and complex manufacturing tolerances.
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 solution enables effective exclusion of aneurysms by allowing precise placement and repositioning of the prosthesis, maintaining blood flow, and accommodating tortuous vessels, thereby expanding treatment options for patients with short necks and reducing procedural complexity.
Implementation Method 1
a first end provided with an arrangement for affixing the device to the interior surface of the vessel, preferably in the form of an inflatable element
Data Source
AI summary
A router device is a intraluminal prosthesis which is used in the repair of aneurysms and other diseases of the aorta. The device also has applications in other vascular beds. The device incorporates an inflatable cuff or sequence of cuffs at one end for fixation and sealing. This cuff may be placed proximal to branch vessels of the aorta. Attached to the cuff is a tubular graft consisting of a generally cylindrical graft material. The graft material may contain one or more fenestrations, intended to align with branch vessels as they emerge from the parent vessel, the aorta in the preferred embodiment. The device features a deliberate taper of its diameter as the device crosses the area of branch vessels. This taper brings the diameter of the graft material to a lesser diameter than that of the parent vessel, leaving a deliberate and distinct space between the device and the wall of the vessel. This space allows more easily achieved engagement of the branch vessels with stents using standard catheterization techniques.