Fluid Control Device for Clot Treatment Systems
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing fluid control devices in clot treatment systems often create 'choke points' when used with large bore catheters, reducing aspiration performance and being difficult to design and build while maintaining ergonomics.
Innovation Solution
The development of fluid control devices with a sloped or angled valve component and a spherical valve component spaced apart from inner surfaces, reducing friction and resistance during operation, and maintaining a uniform lumen diameter to prevent choke points.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If a small bore fluid control device is used, then the device is easier to manufacture and maintain ergonomics, but it creates choke points that reduce aspiration performance
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies parameter changes by increasing the bore size of the fluid control device from traditional small bore dimensions to large bore (greater than 20Fr diameter) to eliminate choke points and improve aspiration performance. This parameter change resolves the contradiction by prioritizing clinical effectiveness over manufacturing ease, as the large bore design allows adequate clot material passage without creating flow restrictions.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent segments the fluid control device into multiple components including a body, valve element, and seal assembly. This segmentation allows the large bore functionality to be achieved through coordinated design of separate elements, making the complex large bore structure more manageable in terms of manufacturing and assembly while maintaining the improved aspiration performance.
2Productivity
If a large bore fluid control device is used, then aspiration performance is improved, but the device becomes exponentially more challenging to design and build while maintaining ergonomics
Solution Approach 1:
The fluid control device is segmented into distinct components: a body housing, a valve element, and a seal assembly. This segmentation breaks down the complexity of designing a large bore device by allowing each component to be optimized independently, then assembled into a functional whole that maintains both performance and manufacturability.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent employs a dynamic valve element that can move between open and closed positions within the large bore body. This dynamic component allows the device to maintain large bore capability when open for aspiration while providing effective sealing when closed, thereby managing the complexity through functional versatility rather than static design.
3Productivity
If the bore size of the stopcock is increased, then aspiration performance is improved, but the surface area of the valve element and seals increases creating much more friction when turning the handle
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs a spherical valve element that rotates within the large bore body. The spherical geometry provides smooth rotational movement with consistent contact points, reducing friction compared to flat-surfaced valves. This curved geometry allows the large bore design to maintain ease of operation by minimizing the friction that would otherwise result from increased surface area.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent incorporates a lubricated seal interface that reduces friction through a lubrication mechanism. The lubrication may involve controlled vibration or movement that distributes lubricant across the seal surfaces, reducing friction and making the large bore valve easier to operate despite the increased surface area required for high vacuum sealing.
4Productivity
If large bore stopcocks are used, then aspiration performance is improved, but the components need to be under more compression to seal high vacuum pressures and they relax over time reducing effectiveness and shelf life
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs composite material construction for the valve element and seal components, combining materials with different properties to achieve both high vacuum sealing capability and long-term durability. The composite structure may include reinforced polymers or metal-composite hybrids that maintain compressive force without relaxing over time, thereby preserving both aspiration performance and shelf life.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent incorporates pre-compression springs or elastic elements in the seal assembly that are designed to maintain constant sealing force against the valve element. This beforehand cushioning mechanism compensates for any relaxation that occurs over time, ensuring that the seal remains effective throughout the device's shelf life and during repeated use cycles.
Data Source
AI summary
Disclosed herein are fluid control devices for clot treatment systems, and associated systems and methods. In some embodiments, a fluid control device can be coupled between a catheter and a pressure source and configured to selectively allow or prevent a vacuum generated within the pressure source to be applied to a lumen of the catheter. The catheter and the fluid control device can together define a lumen or fluid path to the pressure source. The lumen or fluid path can have an at least generally uniform dimension (e.g., diameter) along its length, which is expected to inhibit or even prevent choke points or other resistances to fluid flow through the fluid control device, including when used with large bore catheters.