Fiber-Optic Microcatheter Navigation in the Subarachnoid Space
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional open surgery for therapeutic and diagnostic interventions in the brain and spinal cord is invasive and costly, with risks of injury to the spinal cord, and existing catheters for the spinal canal subarachnoid space are limited in their ability to navigate and visualize the subarachnoid space effectively.
Innovation Solution
A minimally-invasive microcatheter system with a guidewire, steering wires, and a fiber-optic probe allows real-time visualization and navigation within the subarachnoid space, enabling precise delivery of therapeutic agents and tools through small punctures, such as lumbar punctures, without the need for open surgery.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If open surgery is used for therapeutic and diagnostic interventions in the brain and spinal cord, then the treatment effectiveness is ensured, but the patient faces high morbidity, cost, and risk of spinal cord injury
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces the mechanical open surgery approach with a minimally invasive catheter-based system that uses fluoroscopic imaging guidance and fiber-optic visualization to navigate and deliver treatments to the subarachnoid space, eliminating the need for open craniotomy and reducing surgical trauma
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces a catheter as an intermediary device that can be navigated through the subarachnoid space under fluoroscopic guidance to deliver therapeutic agents and diagnostic tools, serving as a mediator between the operator and the target area without requiring direct open access to the brain or spinal cord
2Ease of operation
If conventional catheters are used in the spinal canal subarachnoid space, then access to the subarachnoid space is achieved, but the ability to navigate and visualize the subarachnoid space effectively is limited
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines multiple functions into a single integrated catheter system: fluoroscopic guidance for navigation, fiber-optic probes for real-time visualization, and delivery capabilities for therapeutic agents, allowing simultaneous achievement of access, navigation, and visualization
Solution Approach 2:
The patent incorporates real-time fiber-optic visualization feedback that allows the operator to directly observe the subarachnoid space and guidewire position, enabling precise navigation and adjustment during the procedure without relying solely on indirect fluoroscopic imaging
3Object-affected harmful factors
If minimally-invasive catheter-based approaches are used, then morbidity and cost are reduced, but the delivery of therapies through the blood-brain barrier becomes less effective
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses the subarachnoid space as an intermediary pathway to deliver therapies directly to the brain and spinal cord tissues, bypassing the blood-brain barrier through the cerebrospinal fluid distribution system, thereby achieving effective therapy delivery without open surgery
Solution Approach 2:
The patent leverages the hydraulic distribution of cerebrospinal fluid through the subarachnoid space to deliver therapeutic agents uniformly to target areas, using the body's own fluid distribution system to achieve widespread therapeutic effect
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
This system reduces morbidity and cost, allows for faster patient recovery, and enhances the delivery of therapies like gene therapy by bypassing the blood-brain barrier, improving transduction efficiency 10- to 100-fold compared to traditional methods.
Implementation Method 1
a fiber-optic probe extending through the microcatheter from the distal to the proximal end of the microcatheter
Data Source
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AI summary
A medical device and method for conducting therapeutic and diagnostic interventions in the subarachnoid space of a patient in a minimally-invasive manner are provided. The medical device may be provided in the form of a microcatheter (10) which may be inserted into the subarachnoid space, and then navigated within the subarachnoid space, such as along the spinal canal toward the cistema magna at the base of the patient s brain or to or form any other location within the subarachnoid space. The microcatheter (10) may include a guidewire (14), a fiber-optic lighting element, and a fiber-optic probe (22) or other micro-camera (36) that enables the contents of the subarachnoid space within cerebrospinal fluid (CSF), which is typically clear, to be viewed in real-time as the microcatheter (10) is navigated within the subarachnoid space.