Expandable Aneurysm Occluder for Rapid Durable Vessel Sealing
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing treatments for saccular aneurysms and blood vessel occlusions, such as coil placement and balloon catheters, face challenges including incomplete filling, high cost, long treatment times, and complications like coil migration, balloon deflation, and thrombus formation, necessitating a more effective, durable, and rapid sealing solution.
Innovation Solution
The use of an expandable body, such as a ballstent or blockstent, which is introduced in a non-expanded state, navigated to the treatment site, expanded, and detached from the delivery device, utilizing electrolysis or electrical heating to maintain its configuration, allowing for rapid and complete sealing of aneurysms or occlusion of blood vessel segments.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If coil placement is used to treat saccular aneurysms, then the aneurysm sac can be filled, but coil migration to non-target locations occurs and placement control is difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs a flexible membrane that can be expanded to seal the aneurysm sac. This membrane acts as a barrier that prevents coil migration while allowing controlled placement, resolving the issue of coils moving to non-target locations by providing a contained structure that maintains positional control.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent describes a system where coils are placed within a delivered and expanded membrane structure. The membrane contains the coils, nesting them within a controlled boundary that prevents migration while maintaining the therapeutic effect of coil placement in the aneurysm sac.
2Quantity of substance
If coils are used to fill the aneurysm sac, then partial filling can be achieved, but numerous coils are required resulting in high costs and long treatment times
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines the functions of multiple coils into a single membrane structure that can be delivered and expanded as one unit. This consolidation reduces the number of separate components needed, decreasing both the quantity of materials required and the time needed for placement, while achieving complete aneurysm sac filling.
Solution Approach 2:
The membrane is pre-formed and prepared outside the body, then delivered in a compressed state and expanded at the target site. This preliminary preparation eliminates the need for time-consuming placement of numerous individual coils, as the entire filling structure is already configured and ready for deployment as a single unit.
3Reliability
If traditional balloon catheters are used for vessel occlusion, then the lumen can be blocked, but balloon deflation occurs leading to migration and incomplete occlusion
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces the mechanical inflation/deflation system of traditional balloons with an electroformable metal membrane that maintains its expanded configuration through its inherent structural properties. The metal membrane, once expanded to occlude the vessel lumen, retains its shape without requiring continuous pressure, eliminating the deflation problem of traditional balloons.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent uses an electroformable metal membrane that combines the benefits of flexibility (allowing compression for delivery) with structural integrity (maintaining expanded configuration). This composite material property enables reliable, durable occlusion without the stability issues of traditional balloon materials that deflect under physiological conditions.
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 expandable body provides a rapid, complete, and durable sealing or occlusion with reduced complications and costs, eliminating the need for thrombus accumulation and minimizing recanalization risks.
Implementation Method 1
utilizing electrolysis or electrical heating to maintain its configuration
Implementation Method 2
utilizing electrolysis or electrical heating to maintain its configuration
Data Source
AI summary
Disclosed herein are medical devices comprising a single-lobed, thin-walled, expandable body (“ballstent” or “blockstent”) and a flexible, elongated delivery device (“delivery catheter”) and systems and methods of use for treating saccular vascular aneurysms and methods of use for occluding segments of blood vessels and other biological conduits.Expandable bodies comprising gold, platinum, or silver that can be compressed, positioned in the lumen of an aneurysm or blood vessel, and expanded to conform to the shape of the aneurysm or segment of blood vessel or biological conduit are disclosed. The external surface of the expandable bodies can be configured to promote local thrombosis and to promote the growth of tissue into and around the wall in order to reduce migration of the expandable body and to occlude and seal the aneurysm or biological conduit. The wall of the expandable bodies can also be configured to release drugs or pharmacologically active molecules, such as those that promote thrombosis, cell proliferation, extracellular matrix deposition, or tissue ingrowth.