Flexible Ablation Needle with Helical Slit for Vascular Navigation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing RF needles are too rigid and inflexible to navigate the complex shapes of blood vessels, making transvenous ablation treatments for adrenal tumors difficult, and are prone to tissue adhesion issues during procedures.
Innovation Solution
A flexible ablation needle device with a metal injection needle featuring a helical slit in the proximal portion and fine holes on the distal portion, allowing for navigation through blood vessels and irrigation to prevent tissue adhesion, equipped for both high-frequency and chemical ablation treatments.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If a publicly known RF needle is used for transvenous ablation treatment, then the ablation function is provided, but the needle is too rigid and inflexible to follow the complicated shapes of blood vessels
Solution Approach 1:
The needle is divided into multiple sections with different rigidity characteristics. The proximal portion contains a flexible section with reduced wall thickness that allows the needle to follow the complex shapes of blood vessels, while the distal portion maintains sufficient rigidity for effective ablation. This segmentation enables the needle to navigate vascular pathways while performing its therapeutic function.
Solution Approach 2:
Different portions of the needle are designed with different mechanical properties. The proximal portion is made more flexible to navigate blood vessels, while the distal ablation portion maintains rigidity for effective tissue treatment. This local differentiation of material properties resolves the contradiction between overall flexibility and localized strength requirements.
2Reliability
If a rigid RF needle is used for transvenous introduction, then the needle can maintain structural integrity, but it may be stuck into a guiding catheter or a vascular wall before reaching the adrenal gland
Solution Approach 1:
The needle structure is segmented into a flexible proximal portion for navigation and a rigid distal portion for ablation. This segmentation allows the needle to navigate complex vascular pathways without getting stuck, while maintaining structural integrity for reliable ablation performance at the target site.
Solution Approach 2:
The proximal portion of the needle incorporates a flexible section with reduced wall thickness that can bend and conform to the shapes of blood vessels. This flexible section prevents the needle from getting stuck in guiding catheters or vascular walls during transvenous introduction, while the overall needle structure maintains sufficient structural integrity.
3Reliability
If ablation treatment is performed with a standard needle, then the ablation function is achieved, but biological tissue or thrombi may adhere to the surface of the needle during ablation
Solution Approach 1:
The harmful effect of tissue adhesion is eliminated by extracting the ablation function from direct contact between the needle surface and tissue. Instead, the needle delivers energy (radiofrequency or chemical) through its lumen to ablate tissue at a distance, preventing thrombi and biological tissue from adhering to the needle surface during the ablation process.
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
Enables successful transvenous ablation treatments for adrenal tumors by maintaining flexibility and preventing tissue adhesion, facilitating both high-frequency and chemical ablation procedures with improved operability and safety.
Implementation Method 1
the proximal portion of the injection needle is given flexibility (bendability) by forming a helical slit at least in a distal region of the proximal portion
Implementation Method 2
a plurality of fine holes communicating with the lumen of the distal portion are formed in an outer surface of the distal portion including the closed part
Implementation Method 3
a distal end of the distal portion of the injection needle (a distal-end opening of a typical injection needle) is closed
Data Source
AI summary
An ablation needle device is a needle device intended for an ablation treatment of an adrenal tumor with transvenous introduction of an injection needle into an adrenal gland. The ablation needle device includes a metal injection needle including a pointed tubular distal portion and a tubular proximal portion, and a grip portion attached to a proximal side of the injection needle. The proximal portion of the injection needle is given flexibility by forming a helical slit in a distal region of the proximal portion. An outer surface of the proximal portion is coated with resin. A distal end of the distal portion of the injection needle is closed. A plurality of fine holes are formed in an outer surface of the distal portion including the closed part. The grip portion has a liquid-injection port for supplying liquid into the lumen of the injection needle.