Eversible Cover Retrieval Systems for Low-Shear Clot Removal
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing medical procedures for removing obstructions from body lumens, such as blood clots in the cerebral vasculature, face challenges including dislodgment of fragments, vessel trauma, and ineffective clot retrieval due to stent mobilization, which can lead to further complications like hemorrhagic stroke.
Innovation Solution
The use of an interventional vascular device with an eversible cover that expands against the vessel wall, allowing the cover to evert over the retrieval device as it is translated proximally, providing passive protection and reducing shearing forces, combined with flexible shafts and capturing structures like stents that navigate tortuous anatomy.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If a retrieval device is used to remove an obstruction from a body lumen, then the obstruction can be removed, but the obstruction or its fragments may dislodge and cause further harm
Solution Approach 1:
A protective cover is provided that envelops the retrieval device and obstruction during translation through the body lumen. This cover acts as a cushioning barrier that prevents obstruction fragments from dislodging and contacting the vessel wall, thereby mitigating the harmful effect of fragment dislodgment while maintaining the retrieval function
Solution Approach 2:
The protective cover serves as an intermediary element between the retrieval device and the vessel wall. It translates the movement of the retrieval device while providing a protective interface that prevents direct contact between obstruction fragments and the vessel wall, thus reducing harmful mechanical interactions
2Productivity
If the retrieval device translates through the body lumen to remove the obstruction, then the obstruction can be removed, but the vessel walls may impart shearing forces that break the obstruction
Solution Approach 1:
The protective cover acts as a mediator between the retrieval device and the vessel wall, absorbing and distributing shearing forces during translation. This intermediary structure prevents direct transmission of high shearing forces to the obstruction, reducing the risk of obstruction fragmentation while enabling successful retrieval
Solution Approach 2:
The cover provides beforehand cushioning by being positioned between the retrieval device and vessel wall prior to translation. This pre-positioned protective barrier cushions against shearing forces that would otherwise directly impact the obstruction, preventing breakage during the retrieval process
3Productivity
If a stent is used to push the clot to the side of the vessel, then blood flow can be restored, but the stent may mobilize and become ineffective
Solution Approach 1:
The protective cover provides beforehand cushioning that stabilizes the stent-clot assembly during translation. This protective envelope prevents stent mobilization by maintaining contact between the stent and the obstruction while reducing disruptive forces from the vessel wall, thereby ensuring stent effectiveness throughout the retrieval process
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 effectively secures and retrieves obstructions with reduced dislodgment risk, minimizing vessel trauma and enabling safe removal of clots and other obstructions through complex anatomies.
Implementation Method 1
the eversible cover being axially compliant such that when the interventional vascular device retrieval device is positioned through the shaft lumen and moved in a proximal direction, the friction of the eversible cover against the vessel wall causes the eversible cover to evert over the interventional vascular device
Implementation Method 2
the friction of the eversible cover against the vessel wall causes the eversible cover to evert over the interventional vascular device
Data Source
AI summary
The devices and methods described herein relate to improved structures for removing obstructions from body lumens. Such devices have applicability in through-out the body, including clearing of blockages within the vasculature, by addressing the frictional resistance on the obstruction prior to attempting to translate and/or mobilize the obstruction within the body lumen.