Flexible Torque Cable with Segmented Rigidity for Predictable Delivery
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing medical device delivery cables face challenges in providing sufficient column strength and flexibility to navigate tortuous anatomy while minimizing movement and snaking during deployment, leading to unpredictability in the final position of the medical device.
Innovation Solution
A delivery cable design comprising a rigid proximal section and a flexible distal section, with a flexible inner member surrounded by a rigid proximal outer member and a flexible distal outer member, which reduces bias and snaking, ensuring predictable deployment and ease of advancement through the patient's vasculature.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Strength
If a rigid delivery cable is used to provide column strength for advancing the medical device, then the cable can push the device through the catheter, but the cable exhibits snaking and movement that causes unpredictability in the final position of the medical device
Solution Approach 1:
The delivery cable is segmented into a proximal rigid section and a distal flexible section. The proximal section provides the necessary column strength for advancing the medical device, while the distal section reduces snaking and movement to ensure predictable positioning at the target site.
Solution Approach 2:
Different sections of the delivery cable have different rigidity properties tailored to their specific functions. The proximal section is made rigid to provide pushing force, while the distal section is made flexible to minimize snaking and improve positioning accuracy.
2Adaptability or versatility
If a flexible delivery cable is used to navigate tortuous anatomy, then the cable can accommodate the tortuous path, but the cable lacks sufficient column strength to effectively advance the medical device through the catheter
Solution Approach 1:
The delivery cable is divided into functional segments: a proximal rigid section that provides column strength for device advancement, and a distal flexible section that navigates tortuous anatomy. This segmentation allows each section to optimize its specific function.
Solution Approach 2:
The cable exhibits spatially varying rigidity, with the proximal section being rigid for force transmission and the distal section being flexible for navigation. This local differentiation of mechanical properties resolves the contradiction between strength and adaptability.
3Ease of manufacture
If a single-rigidity delivery cable is used, then the manufacturing and design are simpler, but the cable cannot simultaneously provide sufficient column strength and reduce snaking for predictable deployment
Solution Approach 1:
The delivery cable is constructed with distinct proximal and distal sections having different rigidity characteristics. This segmentation enables the cable to provide both column strength and reduced snaking, improving deployment predictability while maintaining relatively simple manufacturing processes.
Data Source
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AI summary
The present disclosure describes a method of producing a delivery cable. In one embodiment, the method includes providing a flexible inner member, inserting the inner member at least partially into a proximal outer member having a first rigidity, coupling the inner member to the proximal outer member, inserting the inner member into a distal outer member having a second rigidity less than the first rigidity, and coupling the proximal outer member to the distal outer member.