Guide Tube Slit Layout for Sequential Biliary Stent Deployment
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing stent deployment methods often require multiple procedures to place multiple stents in a lumen, which can be cumbersome and invasive, especially for treating biliary strictures in the bile duct.
Innovation Solution
A guide tube with a guidewire-engaging hole and a proximal slit allows for the simultaneous deployment of multiple stents, such as two or more, within a lumen by constraining the first stent from distal and proximal motion, enabling the subsequent advancement of additional stents without removing the guide tube from the body.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If multiple stents are deployed using existing methods, then multiple procedures are required to place multiple stents, but this increases procedural complexity and invasiveness
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines multiple stent deployment capabilities into a single guide tube system. The guide tube is configured to receive and deploy multiple stents sequentially without requiring removal or replacement of the guide tube itself, thereby merging what would traditionally be separate procedures into one integrated operation.
Solution Approach 2:
The guide tube is pre-configured with multiple openings at different positions along its length before the procedure begins. These openings are prepared in advance to receive guidewires that will guide subsequent stents, allowing the operator to deploy multiple stents in a predetermined sequence without reconfiguring the delivery system.
2Productivity
If a guide tube is used to deploy multiple stents, then sequential deployment is enabled, but the guide tube must remain in place throughout the procedure
Solution Approach 1:
The guide tube serves multiple functions: it acts as a delivery catheter for the first stent, provides a framework for subsequent stent delivery through its openings, and serves as a temporary scaffold during the entire multi-stent deployment process. This multi-functionality justifies its extended retention time in the vessel.
3Loss of time
If stents are deployed simultaneously, then procedural time is reduced, but control over stent placement precision is compromised
Solution Approach 1:
The deployment process is segmented into distinct phases, with each phase dedicated to deploying one stent at a time through a specific opening in the guide tube. This segmentation allows precise control over each stent's placement while maintaining an overall efficient procedure, as the guide tube remains in position for rapid sequential deployment.
Data Source
AI summary
Apparatus (20) is provided for use with a guidewire (12). The apparatus includes a guide tube (22) having a guidewire-engaging portion (122) and a slit (28) extending proximally along a wall of the guide tube, from a distal end (32) of the tube, a proximal end (29) of the slit being located distally to a proximal end (30) of the tube. A first stent (52) surrounds the tube and is advanceable together with the tube into a lumen of a subject, the first stent being slidably advanceable off the distal end of the tube; and a second stent (54), proximal to the first stent, surrounding a proximal portion of the tube, and advanceable off the distal end of the tube into the lumen, and placed alongside the first stent subsequently to advancement of the first stent off the distal end of the tube. Other applications are also described.