Expandable Catheter Electrode Mesh Design for Pulsed Electric Field Ablation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Catheters for ablation require improved performance in terms of usability and durability, particularly in maintaining effective contact and minimizing tissue damage during procedures like pulsed electric field ablation.
Innovation Solution
A catheter design featuring an expandable electrode with a mesh-like intermediate portion, a tapered distal end, and a specific wire configuration that includes a core wire with a lower standard electrode potential and a coating with a higher potential to reduce hydrogen occlusion, enhancing rigidity and durability while allowing for effective pulsed electric field generation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Area of moving object
If the electrode is made expandable to increase treated area, then the ablation effectiveness is improved, but the structural complexity and risk of tissue damage increase
Solution Approach 1:
The electrode is divided into multiple element wires arranged in a mesh pattern, allowing independent expansion and control of each segment. This segmentation enables the electrode to achieve a large treated area while maintaining structural manageability through modular design.
Solution Approach 2:
The electrode is designed to be expandable and collapsible, transitioning between a compressed state for insertion and an expanded state for ablation. This dynamic capability allows the electrode to increase its treated area only when needed, reducing structural complexity during insertion and manipulation.
2Strength
If the element wires are made thicker to increase rigidity, then the durability is improved, but the flexibility and ease of insertion are reduced
Solution Approach 1:
Different portions of the electrode have different wire thicknesses. The proximal end uses thicker wires for rigidity and durability, while the distal end uses thinner wires for flexibility and ease of insertion. This local variation in quality allows each region to optimize its mechanical properties for its specific function.
3Ease of manufacture
If a single metal is used for the electrode, then the manufacturing is simplified, but the resistance to hydrogen occlusion and embrittlement is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The electrode uses a composite structure with a core wire made of one metal and a coating made of a different metal with higher hydrogen occlusion resistance. This composite material approach maintains manufacturing feasibility while significantly improving resistance to hydrogen embrittlement and durability during pulsed electric field ablation.
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 catheter achieves improved usability and durability by increasing the treated area, reducing tissue damage, and suppressing complications through enhanced contact and reduced hydrogen embrittlement, thereby improving overall performance and safety during ablation procedures.
Implementation Method 1
The core wire contains a first metal whose standard electrode potential is lower than a standard electrode potential of hydrogen. The coating contains a second metal whose standard electrode potential is higher than the standard electrode potential of hydrogen and which is less likely to occlude hydrogen than the first metal.
Data Source
AI summary
A catheter includes an elongated body, a distal end side of which is inserted into a body, and an electrode provided around an axis of the elongated body and expandable in a direction intersecting the axis. The electrode in an expanded state includes an intermediate portion at least partially including a portion in which element wires spread like a mesh, a proximal end portion located closer to a proximal end side of the elongated body than the intermediate portion and in which the element wires gather, and a distal end portion located closer to the distal end side than the intermediate portion and in which the element wires gather. The intermediate portion includes a maximum portion where an outer dimension of the electrode is maximized. The maximum portion is located closer to the proximal end side than a center of the electrode in an axial direction of the elongated body.