Medical Guidewire Stranded Wire Resilience Design
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Solution Overview
Problem
Medical guidewires with flexible distal ends often suffer from residual angles after being bent, leading to reduced operability and potential plastic deformation, as existing designs lack sufficient resilience and rigidity to maintain shape during use.
Innovation Solution
A medical guidewire design featuring a core shaft with a small-diameter distal end, surrounded by an outer flexible tube and a stranded wire, with an inner flexible tube positioned between the core shaft and stranded wire, creating a joint that differentiates the rigidity between the distal and proximal portions, allowing for high resilience and flexibility.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If the diameter of the distal end portion of the core shaft is made small to improve flexibility, then the guidewire can be inserted smoothly, but the guidewire becomes easily bent due to stress concentration and develops residual angles after bending
Solution Approach 1:
The guidewire is divided into multiple functional segments: a core shaft with distal end portion, an outer flexible tube, a stranded wire, and an inner flexible tube. Each segment has specific properties that contribute to overall performance. The distal end portion has small diameter for flexibility, while the proximal portion has larger diameter for strength, creating a gradient structure that resolves the contradiction between flexibility and resilience.
Solution Approach 2:
Different portions of the guidewire have different structural properties. The distal end portion has small diameter for flexibility and easy insertion, while the proximal portion has larger diameter for strength and resistance to plastic deformation. The stranded wire is positioned specifically in the distal portion where flexibility is needed, while the inner flexible tube provides support where resilience is critical.
2Reliability
If the guidewire is bent into a U-shape for secure holding by blood vessel wall, then misinsertion is prevented, but plastic deformation occurs and the guidewire develops residual angles reducing operability
Solution Approach 1:
The guidewire employs a composite structure combining multiple materials and configurations: core shaft material, outer flexible tube material, stranded wire construction, and inner flexible tube material. This composite design allows the guidewire to achieve both the resilience needed for secure holding and the resistance to plastic deformation needed to maintain operability after bending.
Solution Approach 2:
The stranded wire and inner flexible tube are positioned beforehand to provide structural support and cushioning to the distal end portion. This pre-positioned reinforcement prevents plastic deformation from occurring in the first place during U-shaped bending, allowing the guidewire to recover its original shape after bending while maintaining secure holding capability.
3Reliability
If a stranded wire is used as the distal end portion to improve resilience, then the guidewire recovers better after bending, but it may not recover completely when bent into large curvature U-shape
Solution Approach 1:
The invention merges multiple structural elements: the core shaft with distal end portion, the outer flexible tube, the stranded wire, and the inner flexible tube. This combination creates a synergistic effect where the stranded wire provides resilience for shape recovery while the inner flexible tube and outer flexible tube provide additional structural support to prevent plastic deformation even in large curvature bends.
4Strength
If an inner coil is disposed between the coil spring and core shaft to increase rigidity, then the guidewire maintains shape better, but residual angles still develop after bending
Solution Approach 1:
The guidewire structure allows for dynamic behavior during bending operations. The stranded wire strands can move relative to each other during bending, absorbing energy and preventing plastic deformation. The inner flexible tube and outer flexible tube provide dynamic support that adapts to bending forces, allowing the guidewire to recover completely after bending without developing residual angles.
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 maintains its shape without plastic deformation and retains resilience even after bending, ensuring effective insertion and operation within body lumens by distributing stress and maintaining flexibility at the distal end.
Implementation Method 1
The strands of the stranded wire can move slightly relative to each other. Therefore, the stranded wire has a high degree of freedom, a high flexibility, a high resistance to plastic deformation, and a high resilience.
Implementation Method 2
the inner flexible tube is disposed in the outer flexible tube, the inner flexible tube surrounding the distal end portion of the core shaft and the stranded wire
Data Source
AI summary
Provided is a guidewire including a core shaft, an outer flexible tube, a stranded wire that is disposed parallel to a distal end portion of the core shaft, and an inner flexible tube that surrounds a distal end portion of the core shaft and the stranded wire. The inner flexible tube is disposed in the outer flexible tube so that a distal end thereof is positioned between the distal ends of the core shaft and the stranded wire and a proximal end of the core shaft so as to be separated from the distal ends of the core shaft and the stranded wire. A joint is formed so as to join the distal end of the inner flexible tube, the core shaft, and the stranded wire to each other.