Expandable Clot Mobilizer With Flexible Struts for Vessel Adaptability
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing clot mobilizers fail to provide adequate radial force across a broad range of blood vessel diameters, struggle with flexibility and pushability through tortuous vasculature, and risk damaging vessels due to inconsistent force distribution.
Innovation Solution
The clot mobilizer device features a working portion with flexible middle cell struts and a tapered portion to maintain radial force across varying vessel diameters, enhancing pushability and reducing the risk of vessel damage.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Force
If existing clot mobilizers are deployed in blood vessels, then they can capture and remove thrombus, but they fail to provide adequate radial force across a broad range of blood vessel diameters
Solution Approach 1:
The device incorporates struts with varying flexibility characteristics along its length, with more flexible middle cell struts and less flexible proximal and distal cell struts. This local differentiation of mechanical properties allows the device to adapt to various vessel diameters while maintaining adequate radial force for thrombus capture across different vessel sizes.
Solution Approach 2:
The device utilizes shape memory alloy material that changes its mechanical parameters in response to temperature changes. When exposed to body temperature, the alloy transitions from a constrained state during delivery to an expanded state during deployment, automatically adapting the radial force output to match the vessel diameter without requiring manual adjustment.
2Ease of operation
If existing clot mobilizers are advanced through tortuous vasculature, then they can reach the thrombus, but they struggle with flexibility and pushability
Solution Approach 1:
The device features a gradient of strut flexibility along its longitudinal axis, with more flexible middle cell struts that enable navigation through tortuous vasculature and less flexible proximal and distal cell struts that provide pushability and structural support during advancement and deployment.
Solution Approach 2:
The device employs shape memory alloy material that combines elastic flexibility for navigating tortuous pathways with superelastic properties that provide pushability. The material's unique mechanical characteristics allow it to bend flexibly during navigation while maintaining sufficient structural integrity for forceful advancement through the vasculature.
3Force
If existing clot mobilizers exert radial force on vessels, then they can expand to capture thrombus, but they risk damaging vessels due to inconsistent force distribution
Solution Approach 1:
The device distributes radial force unevenly across different sections, with more flexible middle cell struts providing gentler force distribution in the working portion and less flexible proximal and distal cell struts providing stronger support where needed. This localized force distribution matches the mechanical requirements of different vessel segments, reducing the risk of damage while ensuring adequate thrombus capture.
Solution Approach 2:
The shape memory alloy material undergoes a controlled phase transition that gradually increases radial force output as the device deploys. This progressive parameter change allows the device to adapt its force application to the vessel's mechanical properties, exerting gentler forces in more compliant vessels and stronger forces in stiffer vessels, thereby minimizing damage risk while ensuring effective thrombus capture.
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 achieves consistent radial force across a broad range of vessel diameters, improving navigation and reducing vessel damage risk while maintaining flexibility and pushability.
Implementation Method 1
The self-expandable member is made of a shape memory alloy and has a superelasticity
Implementation Method 2
The self-expanding member can generate radial forces against a vessel wall and/or thrombus when deployed and expanded
Data Source
Figure 1A~2A
Figure 2B~3B
Figure 4A~5A
AI summary
An expandable clot mobilizer device for extraction of an occlusion from a blood vessel is provided, which comprises a working portion including a plurality of crowns of cells. Each cell comprises an open area bordered by two proximal cell struts, two distal cell struts, and two middle cell struts. The proximal cell struts each extending distally from a common proximal end to a proximal end of a respective one of the two middle cell struts, the distal cell struts each extending proximally from a common distal end to a distal end of a respective one of the two middle cell struts, each middle cell strut in each crown bordering two adjacent cells in that crown and each middle cell strut being adapted and configured to be more flexible than the distal cell strut and the proximal cell strut to which it extends. The clot mobilizer also comprises a tapered portion.