Guided Valvulotome With Expandable Basket For Venous Valve Removal
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing valvulotomes lack independent guidance and control over the removal of venous valves, requiring external steering and unable to adapt to varying vein diameters and conditions during bypass surgeries for coronary artery bypass grafting.
Innovation Solution
A wire/catheter guided valvulotome with an expandable basket and cutting elements, where a guide wire navigates the device, and an inner tube controls the basket's expansion to match vein diameters, ensuring precise placement and controlled cutting.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If a conventional catheter-guided valvulotome is used, then the device can be inserted through the catheter, but it cannot be independently guided or steered to the target site
Solution Approach 1:
The guide wire is nested within the first inner tube, which is nested within the second tube, which is nested within the catheter tube. This multi-level nesting allows the guide wire to extend through the entire length of the valvulotome while maintaining a compact structure during insertion, enabling independent guidance without excessive complexity
Solution Approach 2:
The guide wire acts as an intermediary element that provides independent steering capability. The curved tip of the guide wire allows the operator to navigate the valvulotome to the target site by manipulating the guide wire independently, while the catheter and tubes serve as protective sheaths that can be advanced over the guide wire
2Adaptability or versatility
If the basket and cutting elements are separate components, then they can work together for valve removal, but the device cannot adapt to varying vein diameters
Solution Approach 1:
The basket is designed as an expandable structure that can dynamically change its diameter. The second tube can be moved relative to the first inner tube to expand or compress the basket, allowing adaptation to different vein diameters. The cutting elements are integrated into the basket struts, maintaining their functional relationship while enabling diameter adjustment
Solution Approach 2:
The basket is segmented into multiple struts that can be independently positioned or expanded. This segmentation allows the basket to conform to different circular geometries and diameters while maintaining structural integrity and the proper positioning of cutting elements on each strut
3Reliability
If cutting elements are exposed during transport, then they can be ready for immediate use, but they may cause injury during transport
Solution Approach 1:
The basket with cutting elements is nested within the catheter tube during transport and storage. The catheter tube acts as a protective sheath that contains the cutting elements, preventing injury during handling and transport. At the treatment site, the basket is expanded and the cutting elements are exposed only when needed for valve removal
Solution Approach 2:
The cutting elements are pre-positioned on the basket struts during manufacturing, but the basket is designed to remain in a compressed or enclosed state during transport. The cutting elements are ready for immediate use upon deployment, but their harmful potential is neutralized by the protective catheter tube until the moment of use
Data Source
Figure 1~2
Figure 3~4
AI summary
The invention relates to a valvulotome (1) guided by a guide wire/catheter, with a guide wire (2), with a first inner tube (3) for receiving the guide wire (2), with an expandable basket (5) comprising cutting elements (7), wherein the basket (5) represents the distal end of a second tube (4) in which the first inner tube (3) extends, with a catheter tube (8) in which the second inner tube (4) extends and which is suitable for accommodating and guiding the expandable basket (5) in the non-expanded state, and with a sleeve (6) which forms the distal end of the first tube (3) and serves as a limit for the distal end of the basket (5) and through which the guide wire (2) is guided.