Expandable Macerating Catheter for Vascular Clot Removal
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current methods for removing vascular clots are limited by systemic risks of lytic agents, inability to control mobile clots, anatomical adaptation issues, incomplete thrombus removal, and damage to vascular walls during mechanical removal.
Innovation Solution
A catheter device with an expandable macerating element and isolation members that can independently control diameter and rotation, allowing for precise clot removal and aspiration, minimizing vascular damage.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If mechanical removal means are used to remove clots, then clot removal effectiveness is improved, but vascular wall damage occurs
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a thrombolytic agent as an intermediary substance that chemically dissolves the clot, mediating between the mechanical device and the clot to avoid direct mechanical contact with vascular walls. The agent converts the mechanical removal problem into a chemical dissolution process, eliminating the harmful mechanical impact on vessel walls while achieving effective clot removal.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces the traditional mechanical maceration system with a pharmacomechanical system that combines thrombolytic agent infusion with mild mechanical aspiration. The chemical action of the thrombolytic agent substitutes for aggressive mechanical maceration, achieving clot removal through dissolution rather than forceful mechanical disruption, thereby protecting vascular walls from damage.
2Productivity
If thrombolytic agents are infused to dissolve clots, then clot removal is achieved, but systemic risks increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the thrombolytic agent delivery system from a systemic circulation approach and confines it to a localized delivery mechanism at the clot site. By using a catheter-based delivery system that targets the agent directly at the thrombus, the patent removes the harmful systemic exposure while maintaining local therapeutic effectiveness, thus extracting the harmful systemic side effects while preserving the beneficial local clot dissolution.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent applies local quality by concentrating the thrombolytic agent delivery precisely at the clot location rather than systemic distribution. The catheter-based delivery system ensures high local concentration of the agent at the target site while maintaining low systemic levels, creating a local therapeutic effect without global systemic exposure, thereby achieving effective clot dissolution with minimized systemic risks.
3Reliability
If expandable isolation members are used to contain clots, then control of mobile clots is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies the nested doll principle by placing the macerating element inside the expandable isolation members, creating a nested configuration where one functional component is housed within another. The macerating element can be inserted through the collapsed isolation members and deployed within the containment zone, allowing sequential deployment and retraction of components, thereby managing device complexity through nested architecture while achieving reliable clot containment and treatment.
Data Source
AI summary
The invention being disclosed describes a medical device for removal of a thrombus or clot in a vascular setting by using a rotational, expandable basket structure in combination with drug infusion, blood/particle aspiration and clot isolation by distal and proximal occlusion.