Guidewire Solder Tip Mold for Distal Support and Steerability
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional guidewires lack sufficient distal support and steerability, particularly in navigating tortuous vasculature, and often cause vessel damage due to stiffness issues and abrupt resistance changes during advancement.
Innovation Solution
A guidewire design featuring a radiopaque inner coil and a non-radiopaque outer coil with a smooth transition region, enhanced torque response, and a parabolic grind profile for improved flexibility and tactile feedback, along with a micro-J shape tip and dimpled solder joint for increased maneuverability and reduced risk of damage.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If conventional guidewires use a tapered core member with soldered coils, then manufacturing is simplified, but the guidewire lacks sufficient distal support and steerability in tortuous vasculature
Solution Approach 1:
The guidewire is divided into distinct functional segments: a core member with specific tapered geometry, an inner radiopaque coil, and an outer non-radiopaque coil. This segmentation allows each component to contribute specific properties - the core provides structural support, the inner coil provides radiopacity and flexibility, and the outer coil enhances flexibility and torquability, collectively resolving the contradiction between manufacturing simplicity and distal support/steerability.
Solution Approach 2:
The guidewire employs a composite structure combining different materials and properties: a tapered core member (e.g., stainless steel or nitinol), radiopaque inner coil material (e.g., platinum or gold alloy), and non-radiopaque outer coil material. This composite construction enables the guidewire to simultaneously achieve distal support, steerability, radiopacity for visualization, and flexibility for navigation through tortuous vasculature.
2Strength
If guidewires are made stiffer to provide distal support, then pushability improves, but steerability and risk of vessel damage worsen
Solution Approach 1:
The guidewire implements local quality variations through its结构设计: the core member has a tapered geometry with varying wall thickness, the inner radiopaque coil is positioned distally to provide localized support and radiopacity, and the outer non-radiopaque coil extends more proximally to enhance flexibility. This spatial distribution of properties allows the distal portion to provide pushability while the proximal portion maintains steerability, resolving the contradiction between strength and ease of operation.
3Ease of manufacture
If guidewires have abrupt stiffness changes to provide structural definition, then manufacturing is easier, but tactile feedback and control worsen
Solution Approach 1:
The guidewire achieves dynamic stiffness characteristics through the interaction of its components: the tapered core member provides a gradual transition in stiffness, while the coiled structures add compliance and flexibility. The inner and outer coils can deform independently, creating a dynamic response that smooths abrupt stiffness changes and provides progressive tactile feedback during advancement, resolving the contradiction between structural definition and tactile feedback.
4Illumination intensity
If guidewires use radiopaque materials throughout, then visualization under fluoroscopy improves, but flexibility and torquability worsen
Solution Approach 1:
The guidewire applies radiopacity locally rather than uniformly: the inner coil is made radiopaque (using platinum, gold alloy, or other radiopaque materials) to ensure visualization under fluoroscopy, while the outer coil is made of non-radiopaque material (e.g., stainless steel or nitinol) to maintain flexibility and torquability. This localized application of radiopacity resolves the contradiction between visualization and operational flexibility.
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 guidewire provides enhanced distal support, steerability, and reduced risk of vessel damage while maintaining torque and tactile feedback, allowing for safer and more controlled advancement through complex vascular anatomy.
Implementation Method 1
A mold includes a cavity for receiving a distal tip of a guidewire and molten solder
Implementation Method 2
A method includes forming a solder distal tip at a distal end of a guidewire
Data Source
AI summary
A mold is used to form a solder joint to join the distal end of the guidewire to a wire coil. The mold has a cavity that can have different configurations so that the solder joint can be any of bullet shaped, micro-J shaped, cone shaped, truncated cone shaped, or have a textured surface.