Guide Wire With Recessed Curved Tip for Stenosis Penetration

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Solution Overview

Problem

Existing guide wires face challenges in ensuring sufficient penetrability through severe stenosis in blood vessels, particularly chronic total occlusions, as the distal end slips on the stenosis surface, leading to prolonged manipulation times and degraded passing performance.

Innovation Solution

The guide wire features a curved distal end with recesses, including a circular distal recess and circular or oval surrounding recesses, configured to suppress slipping on the stenosis by ensuring edges catch on the stenosis surface regardless of orientation, enhancing penetrability and passing performance.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Reliability

If a plane section is provided on the distal end of the guide wire to improve penetrability, then the penetrability is improved, but the passing performance within the body lumen degrades due to surface contact

Engineering Contradiction:
ImprovepenetrabilityVSAvoidpassing performance degradation
Core Design Contradiction:
ReliabilityVSObject-generated harmful factors

Solution Approach 1:

The guide wire applies local quality by creating recesses only at specific locations (distal end and surrounding portion) rather than a complete plane section. This localized approach provides penetrating edges where needed while maintaining a curved surface elsewhere that reduces surface contact with the body lumen, thus improving penetrability without degrading passing performance.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #3Local quality

Solution Approach 2:

The guide wire employs curvature by forming the distal end portion into a curved shape rather than a flat plane section. This curved configuration reduces surface contact area with the body lumen during passage, improving passing performance, while still providing recesses that create effective penetrating edges for stenosis penetration.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #14Spheroidality (Curvature)

2Reliability

If the distal end portion is designed with a tapered tip to improve penetrability, then the penetrability is improved, but the distal end slips on severe stenosis surfaces

Engineering Contradiction:
ImprovepenetrabilityVSAvoidslipping resistance
Core Design Contradiction:
ReliabilityVSEase of operation

Solution Approach 1:

The guide wire applies segmentation by dividing the distal end structure into multiple functional elements: a curved distal end portion for smooth passage, and multiple recesses creating discrete penetrating edges. These segmented features work together to prevent slipping on severe stenosis while maintaining good passing performance, overcoming the limitations of a simple tapered tip.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #1Segmentation

Solution Approach 2:

The guide wire employs composite structure by combining different geometric features (curved surface and recesses with sharp edges) in a single distal end design. This composite approach integrates the smooth passage capability of curved surfaces with the penetrating capability of sharp edges, preventing slipping on severe stenosis while maintaining good passing performance.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #40Composite materials

3Ease of operation

If multiple rows of recesses are formed along the axial direction to suppress slipping, then the slipping resistance is improved, but the device complexity increases

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveslipping resistanceVSAvoidstructure complexity
Core Design Contradiction:
Ease of operationVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The guide wire applies partial action by forming recesses in only two specific regions (distal end and surrounding portion) rather than distributing them uniformly along the entire wire. This selective placement provides sufficient slipping resistance through the created edges while minimizing the overall complexity of the structure, avoiding excessive action that would increase device complexity unnecessarily.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #16Partial or excessive action

Data Source

PatentEP4241820B1Guide wire
Publication Date: 2025.07.09 TERUMO KK
  • EP4241820B1 patent drawingFigure 1~2
  • EP4241820B1 patent drawingFigure 3~4
  • EP4241820B1 patent drawingFigure 5~6

AI summary

Provided is a guide wire capable of exhibiting improved penetrability for penetrating a stenosis without degradation of passing performance of the guide wire. A guide wire 1 includes a wire main body 30 formed into a linear shape, a distal end portion 31 of the wire main body 30 is formed into a curved shape by a top portion 32 that forms an extreme distal portion and a surrounding portion 33 that makes the top portion 32 continuous with a peripheral surface 34 of the wire main body 30, a plurality of recesses 35 and 36 are formed in the distal end portion 31, and the recesses 35 and 36 are formed in the top portion 32 and the surrounding portion 33, respectively.