Temporary Endovascular Shunt for Traumatic Hemorrhage Control
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current endovascular devices, such as stents, are inadequate for rapidly controlling severe blood loss during traumatic vascular injuries, as they are either permanent, complex to remove, or require lengthy procedures, posing risks to abdominal organs due to prolonged ischemia.
Innovation Solution
An endovascular assembly comprising a catheter, a shunt with a frame and liner, and a wire that can rapidly deploy and retract, allowing the shunt to transition between collapsed and expanded configurations to control blood flow, enabling temporary hemorrhage control while allowing blood flow to the rest of the body.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If an endovascular balloon is deployed to occlude the aorta, then blood flow to the heart and brain is preserved, but blood flow to the lower body is cut off causing ischemia to abdominal organs
Solution Approach 1:
The device segments blood flow control into two separate functions: the occlusion balloon controls proximal blood flow to the heart and brain, while the shunt creates a separate bypass pathway that allows blood to reach the lower body and abdominal organs. This segmentation resolves the contradiction by enabling simultaneous preservation of critical blood flow and prevention of organ ischemia.
Solution Approach 2:
The shunt acts as an intermediary element that mediates between the occlusion balloon and the lower body vasculature. It provides an alternative pathway for blood flow that bypasses the occluded aorta, thereby preventing ischemia to abdominal organs while maintaining the therapeutic occlusion effect.
2Productivity
If surgical repair is performed rapidly, then blood loss is controlled, but the procedure may be incomplete or suboptimal
Solution Approach 1:
The shunt is deployed as a preliminary action before the main surgical repair is completed. This temporary shunt establishes blood flow control and stabilizes the patient, buying time for the surgical team to perform a thorough and high-quality repair without rushing. The preliminary shunt deployment resolves the contradiction by decoupling the speed of initial stabilization from the quality of definitive repair.
3Reliability
If a permanent stent is used, then blood flow is restored, but the device cannot be removed and requires lengthy procedures
Solution Approach 1:
The shunt system transitions from a static permanent stent concept to a dynamic temporary device that can be deployed and removed as needed. The shunt is designed to be temporarily implantable, allowing blood flow restoration during the critical period of vascular injury, while maintaining the flexibility to be removed once the underlying condition is treated or when no longer needed, thus avoiding the complexity of permanent implantation procedures.
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 rapid and temporary control of blood loss, providing sufficient time for surgical repair without causing permanent damage to abdominal organs, with the ability to adjust position and length post-deployment, facilitating quicker stabilization of patients with severe vascular injuries.
Implementation Method 1
allowing the shunt to radially expand to define an expanded shunt lumen along the blood vessel
Data Source
AI summary
Endovascular assemblies may include a catheter, a shunt, and a wire. The shunt includes a frame and a liner secured about the frame. The wire extends through the catheter and is coupled to the shunt. The shunt is configured to move between a collapsed configuration and a radially expanded configuration in response to movement of the wire. Endovascular assemblies may be used to shunt a vessel.