Expandable Clot Retrieval Device With Interconnected Struts
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current clot retrieval devices face challenges in accessing and removing clots from delicate and tortuous blood vessels, such as the cerebral and pulmonary vasculature, due to issues with device profile, flexibility, and the varied morphology and consistency of clots, which can lead to vessel trauma and incomplete clot removal.
Innovation Solution
A clot removal device with an expandable structure featuring interconnected struts that engage with clots, including a proximal pinch section and a distal section, allowing for controlled clot capture and retrieval with minimal vessel compression, and a fragment protection mechanism to prevent embolization.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If the device uses a high profile and rigid structure to effectively engage and remove clot, then clot retrieval capability is improved, but vessel trauma and difficulty in navigating tortuous vessels increase
Solution Approach 1:
The device employs a dynamic structure that transitions from a compressed low-profile configuration during delivery to an expanded high-profile configuration during clot engagement. The expandable frame allows the device to adapt its size and shape, providing high clot retrieval capability when needed while maintaining a small profile for safe navigation through tortuous vessels, thereby resolving the contradiction between retrieval effectiveness and vessel trauma risk
Solution Approach 2:
The device utilizes a nested configuration where the expandable frame and clot engagement components are compressed within a delivery catheter during insertion. This nesting allows the high-profile retrieval structure to be delivered through low-profile access, enabling effective clot removal while minimizing trauma to delicate vessels during the delivery phase
2Productivity
If the device applies high radial force to engage and capture clot, then clot capture effectiveness is improved, but vessel perforation and hemorrhage risk increase
Solution Approach 1:
The device applies radial force locally at the clot engagement site through the expandable frame, concentrating the necessary capture force where needed while maintaining lower forces in the surrounding vessel wall areas. This localized force application improves clot capture effectiveness without proportionally increasing the risk of vessel perforation across the entire device contact area
Solution Approach 2:
The expandable frame allows dynamic adjustment of radial force application, enabling high force concentration on the clot while the compliant structure distributes forces more gently on the vessel wall, resolving the contradiction between capture effectiveness and perforation risk
3Ease of operation
If the device uses a low profile and flexible structure to navigate tortuous vessels, then access capability is improved, but clot engagement and retrieval effectiveness decrease
Solution Approach 1:
The device transitions dynamically between a compressed low-profile state for navigation through tortuous vessels and an expanded high-profile state for effective clot engagement. This dynamic transformation allows the device to excel at both access capability and retrieval effectiveness at different stages of the procedure
Solution Approach 2:
The device structure is segmented into collapsible sections that can be compressed for delivery and expanded for operation, enabling the transition between low-profile access and high-profile retrieval functions
4Productivity
If the device compresses the clot during retrieval, then clot containment is improved, but clot dehydration and increased friction occur leading to更难 removal
Solution Approach 1:
The device provides containment through a structured framework that encloses the clot without applying uniform compression. The local support structure contains clot fragments while minimizing dehydration and friction, resolving the contradiction between containment and ease of removal
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2A~2B
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AI summary
A clot removal device that includes an expandable structure comprising interconnected struts configured to engage with clot. The interconnected struts are configured in the expanded clot engaging deployed configuration so at least a portion of the plurality of interconnected struts interpenetrates clot. The expandable structure includes a distal section, a proximal pinch section proximal of the distal section, and a clot capture mechanism.