Funnel Body Overlap Guide for Percutaneous Implant Folding
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current minimally invasive surgical procedures face complications due to the invasive methods used for closing large puncture holes or access sites in blood vessels, which can lead to tissue trauma and healing issues.
Innovation Solution
A device and method for folding an implant with a wing into an overlapped configuration using a funnel body and overlap guide, allowing for precise sealing of apertures in tissues with a polymer-based implant that remains shelf-stable after sterilization, and a delivery system to maneuver the implant into a sealing position within a blood vessel.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If cut-down surgical repair is used to close large puncture holes, then the access site can be closed, but tissue trauma and complications increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the harmful cutting and suturing actions from the closure process by introducing a sutureless implant device that seals the puncture hole through mechanical compression and tissue approximation, eliminating the need for invasive surgical repair
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces the mechanical cutting and suturing system with a compression-based sealing system that uses radial force to approximate tissue edges and create a seal without incisions or stitches
2Ease of operation
If percutaneous access is used to reach target sites, then invasiveness is reduced, but access site closure becomes problematic
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a sutureless implant as an intermediary device that facilitates closure of percutaneous access sites, bridging the gap between the need for percutaneous access and the requirement for safe closure without adding surgical complexity
Solution Approach 2:
The implant device is self-contained and self-deploying, requiring no additional surgical instruments or techniques for installation or removal, thereby maintaining the simplicity of percutaneous access while solving the closure problem
3Adaptability or versatility
If large puncture holes are created for instrument insertion, then instrument access is enabled, but closure risk increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs a dynamic compression mechanism where the implant can be deployed and adjusted to match varying puncture hole sizes and shapes, adapting to different access requirements while maintaining reliable sealing
Solution Approach 2:
The implant device changes its physical parameters (compression force, radial expansion) to effectively seal puncture holes of varying sizes, transforming the closure approach from size-specific surgical repair to a universal sutureless solution
Data Source
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AI summary
A device for folding an implant 5 having a wing 60 into an overlapped configuration includes a funnel body 500 comprising: a first portion configured to receive and protect the implant when the wing of the implant is in a flat or relaxed state, a second portion proximal to the first portion and configured to engage and fold opposite first and second side portions of the wing of the implant in a predetermined direction when the implant is retracted proximally from the first portion of the funnel body and into the second portion of the funnel body, and an overlap guide configured to direct the path of a first one of the side portions of the wing such that the first and second side portions of the wing are overlapped in a predetermined manner and to prevent respective edges of the first and second side portions of the wing from butting into each other as the first and second side portions of the wing are guided into the overlapping configuration during proximal retraction of the implant relative to the funnel body.