Expansile Bracing Frame for Vessel Support During Aspiration
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Solution Overview
Problem
Intravascular thrombectomy procedures face challenges in accessing and retrieving clots from small, tortuous blood vessels due to the tradeoff between catheter deliverability and the size needed to capture clots, with larger catheters being stiff and less flexible, and aspiration causing blood vessel collapse.
Innovation Solution
A system involving an aspiration catheter and a bracing frame that expands within the blood vessel to support the vessel and inhibit collapse, allowing for clot aspiration through a passageway, with optional stentriever deployment to engage and retrieve the clot, improving deliverability and reducing vessel damage.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If larger catheters are used to capture clots by complete ingestion, then clot capture capability is improved, but deliverability worsens because they are stiffer and less flexible
Solution Approach 1:
The device is divided into two separate components: a bracing frame that provides structural support and maintains vessel patency, and an aspiration catheter that performs clot capture. This segmentation allows each component to be optimized independently - the bracing frame can be sized to match the vessel diameter for optimal support, while the aspiration catheter can be designed with appropriate flexibility for delivery through tortuous vasculature.
Solution Approach 2:
The bracing frame acts as an intermediary structure deployed within the blood vessel to maintain vessel openness and provide a stable platform for aspiration. It mediates between the need for vessel support and the need for flexible catheter delivery by creating a rigid support structure that allows the aspiration catheter to function effectively without requiring the catheter itself to be stiff.
2Productivity
If aspiration is performed to retrieve clots, then clot retrieval is achieved, but blood vessel collapse occurs which prevents capture and potentially damages the vessel
Solution Approach 1:
The bracing frame is deployed within the blood vessel before aspiration begins to counteract the collapsing force that will be generated by negative pressure. By establishing this preliminary counter-support structure, the system prevents the harmful effect of vessel collapse before it can occur during the aspiration process.
Solution Approach 2:
The bracing frame provides a counterbalancing structural support that opposes the collapsing force generated during aspiration. Just as counterweight balances gravitational force, the bracing frame balances the negative pressure-induced collapse force, maintaining vessel patency throughout the clot retrieval process.
3Reliability
If catheters are made close to or the same size as the vessel to improve clot capture, then clot capture capability is improved, but vessel support during aspiration deteriorates leading to collapse
Solution Approach 1:
The device separates the clot capture function (performed by the aspiration catheter) from the vessel support function (performed by the bracing frame). This allows the bracing frame to be sized to provide optimal structural support matching the vessel diameter, while the aspiration catheter can be sized appropriately for clot capture without compromising vessel support.
Solution Approach 2:
The bracing frame serves multiple functions: it provides structural support to prevent vessel collapse, maintains vessel patency during aspiration, and creates a stable platform for the aspiration catheter to function effectively. This multi-functionality addresses both vessel support and aspiration efficiency simultaneously.
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 system effectively reduces the likelihood of blood vessel collapse during clot retrieval, enhances catheter deliverability, and allows for successful capture of clots without damaging the vessel, improving the efficacy of thrombectomy procedures.
Implementation Method 1
aspiration of a clot can cause blood vessels to collapse, preventing capture of the clot and potentially damaging the blood vessel
Implementation Method 2
The tubular framework can be configured to expand to a deployed configuration within the blood vessel upon being expelled from the delivery catheter. In the deployed configuration the tubular framework can be configured to inhibiting radial collapse of the blood vessel due to the negative pressure
Implementation Method 3
aspirating through a lumen of the aspiration catheter while the tubular framework is in the deployed configuration, thereby creating a negative pressure region within the blood vessel between the obstruction and the mouth of the aspiration catheter
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2A~2D
Figure 2E~2G
AI summary
Example systems and methods of treatment are presented herein which generally involve expanding a bracing frame within a blood vessel between a clot and an aspiration catheter, aspirating the clot through a passageway of the bracing frame, and supporting the blood vessel by the bracing frame as negative pressure is created by the aspiration. The bracing frame can thereby reduce likelihood of blood vessel collapse compared to a similar procedure which does not include the bracing frame. The bracing frame can be removed from the blood vessel during treatment. In some examples, the bracing frame can further function to expand a mouth of the catheter. In some examples, the system can include a stentriever.