Expandable Venous Cannula Atrium Drainage
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional cardiac surgery and minimally invasive cardiac procedures face challenges with inadequate drainage from single venous cannulas, leading to the need for additional cannulas and inefficiencies in fluid removal from roughly spherical cavities like the atrium.
Innovation Solution
A percutaneous expandable venous cannula device featuring an elongated member with a guide wire actuator and a head unit comprising multiple flexible tubes with holes, which expands to fill the atrium efficiently, allowing for complete drainage and minimizing suction occlusion.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Device complexity
If a single venous cannula is used for drainage, then the device complexity is reduced, but the drainage efficiency becomes inadequate
Solution Approach 1:
The single cannula is segmented into multiple flexible tubes (typically 3-6 tubes) arranged radially around a central actuator. Each tube contains multiple drainage holes distributed along its length, allowing the cannula to drain fluid from multiple locations simultaneously while maintaining a single insertion point, thus resolving the contradiction between device simplicity and drainage efficiency.
Solution Approach 2:
The cannula transitions from a linear configuration to a three-dimensional radial arrangement when expanded. The flexible tubes extend outward in multiple directions from the central axis, creating a spherical drainage pattern that efficiently captures fluid from all directions within the atrium, significantly improving drainage productivity without requiring multiple separate cannulas.
2Ease of operation
If the cannula remains in a compact configuration, then ease of insertion is improved, but the drainage coverage is insufficient
Solution Approach 1:
The multiple flexible tubes are nested within a delivery catheter during insertion. The tubes are collapsed and contained within the delivery system, allowing percutaneous insertion through standard access points. Once positioned in the atrium, the tubes are deployed outward from the nested configuration to achieve full radial expansion and maximum drainage coverage.
Solution Approach 2:
The cannula is designed with dynamic transformability between a compact delivery configuration and an expanded drainage configuration. The flexible tubes can transition from a collapsed state during insertion to a fully expanded radial configuration during drainage, allowing the device to optimize both ease of insertion and drainage coverage area at different operational stages.
3Productivity
If multiple drainage holes are added to increase drainage capacity, then the drainage efficiency is improved, but the risk of chamber collapse increases
Solution Approach 1:
The drainage tubes are constructed from flexible materials that can adapt to the atrial chamber geometry. The flexibility allows the tubes to conform to the chamber walls without causing collapse, while the distributed hole pattern along the tube length provides adequate drainage capacity. The flexible construction prevents the rigid structural support that would be needed to prevent collapse, thus resolving the contradiction between drainage capacity and chamber stability.
Solution Approach 2:
The drainage holes are distributed locally along the length of each flexible tube rather than concentrated in one area. This local distribution of drainage openings provides sufficient total drainage capacity while maintaining structural integrity and preventing chamber collapse, as the flexible tube walls retain their strength between the distributed hole locations.
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 device enables efficient and complete drainage of the atrium during minimally invasive cardiac surgery, reducing the need for additional cannulas and improving surgical efficiency, while also being suitable for ECMO support.
Implementation Method 1
Movement of the actuator in a proximal direction along the longitudinal axis of the elongated member moves the first spacer from a first, unexpanded position to a second, expanded position
Implementation Method 2
a closed fluid path defined by at least the flexible tubes and extending to an outlet from the device to which suction can be applied to draw fluid through the holes of the flexible tubes, through the flexible tubes, and through the outlet
Data Source
AI summary
Provided herein is a percutaneous expandable venous cannula device, and related methods. The device is easily inserted, for example, using standard Seldinger technique via the right internal jugular. The device includes multiple, multi-holed limbs that softly fill, e.g., the right atrium to facilitate complete drainage, enable retraction of the chamber in surgery, and mitigate suction occlusion, filling the entire atrium and allowing for efficient and rapid emptying of the chamber. In aspects, the device facilitates minimally-invasive aortic or mitral valve surgery with single placement via the right internal jugular as the sole cannula needed for full support.