Guide Wire Marker Layer Adhesion and Friction
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional guide wires for endoscopic procedures lack a visible marker that is easily recognizable and provides good slidability and safety, particularly when inserted through an endoscope, as they often rely on heat-shrinkable tubes or color-producing agents that may not ensure consistent visibility and adhesion.
Innovation Solution
A guide wire with a bulge-forming layer that differs in color from the core wire, formed from a resin and pigment combination, which provides a visible marker and reduces friction through a coating layer that adheres well, ensuring the marker remains visible and the wire remains flexible and safe to use.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If a hollow PTFE tube with colored spiral patterns is slipped onto the core wire and heat-shrunk, then a marker is formed on the guide wire, but the guide wire structure becomes complex and the marker adhesion may be inconsistent
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines the marker-forming layer and the outer layer into a single integrated structure. The marker-forming layer containing pigment is incorporated within the outer layer that covers the core wire, eliminating the need for separate heat-shrunk tubes. This merging simplifies the overall structure while maintaining marker visibility and adhesion.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent uses composite materials by incorporating pigment into the outer layer material. The outer layer is formed from a material containing pigment that provides color contrast, creating a composite structure that integrates marking functionality directly into the guide wire coating rather than using separate marker components.
2Ease of manufacture
If a color producing agent is added to the covering layer and laser irradiation is applied, then a marker is formed, but the manufacturing process becomes complex and energy consumption increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the laser irradiation step from the manufacturing process. Instead of using laser beam irradiation to activate color-producing agents, the marker-forming layer is designed to provide color contrast through inherent pigment without requiring external energy activation. This removes the energy-consuming laser step while maintaining marker formation capability.
3Ease of operation
If surface irregularities are formed by heating a coil wound around the curved part, then flexibility is improved, but the manufacturing process becomes complex and energy is consumed
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the coil heating process from the manufacturing method. Instead of heating a coil to create surface irregularities for flexibility, the guide wire achieves flexibility through the inherent properties of the core wire material and structure. The outer layer is applied without requiring thermal processing, eliminating energy consumption while maintaining operational flexibility.
4Difficulty of detecting and measuring
If multiple synthetic resin films are coated on the core material, then the marker visibility is improved, but the guide wire diameter increases and slidability decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges the marker-forming layer and outer layer into an integrated structure where the marker-forming layer is incorporated within the outer layer. This consolidation maintains marker visibility through pigment-containing layers while reducing the total number of separate film layers, thereby minimizing diameter increase and preserving slidability.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent uses thin film structures for both the marker-forming layer and outer layer. By optimizing the thickness of these layers to be minimal while maintaining functionality, the guide wire diameter is kept small and slidability is preserved. The outer layer acts as a thin protective shell that contains the marker-forming layer without adding excessive bulk.
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
The guide wire features a visible marker that enhances recognition during endoscopic procedures, while the resin and pigment combination ensures high contrast and adhesion, improving slidability and safety by reducing friction and preventing peeling.
Implementation Method 1
a coating layer which covers the outer surface of the core wire and the marker-forming layer
Data Source
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AI summary
Disclosed herein is a guide wire including a member with a core wire. The guide wire may have a marker-forming layer which partly encircles the outer surface of the member and differs in color from the member, and a coating layer which covers the marker-forming layer and the member at least in the region where the marker-forming layer is formed and has such transparency as to make the marker-forming layer visible, the marker-forming layer and the coating layer being formed from mutually miscible resins, and the marker-forming layer functioning as a visible marker.