Helical Catheter Bore Creation via Axial Rotation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current catheter-based intervention procedures for vascular diseases, such as atherosclerosis, face challenges in effectively traversing and treating vascular lesions due to the limitations of existing guide wires and catheters in navigating through occlusions and stenotic lesions.
Innovation Solution
A robotic catheter system equipped with a percutaneous device featuring a helical section and actuating mechanisms that allow for axial and rotational movement, enabling the creation of a bore through vascular lesions, facilitating the passage of a working catheter for treatment, and incorporating an occlusion traversal guide wire with adjustable helical end sections and vibration capabilities to enhance traversal efficiency.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a traditional guide wire is used to navigate through vascular occlusions, then the procedure is simpler in terms of device complexity, but the ability to effectively traverse and create a bore through stenotic lesions is insufficient
Solution Approach 1:
The guide wire is divided into multiple functional sections: a distal helical section for engaging and traversing the occlusion, a middle section for structural support, and a proximal section for actuation control. This segmentation allows each section to perform its specific function optimally while maintaining overall device manageability.
Solution Approach 2:
The guide wire incorporates dynamically adjustable features including variable helical section diameters that can be expanded or contracted, and adjustable stiffness along the wire length. These dynamic properties allow the wire to adapt to different occlusion types and sizes, improving traversal reliability without requiring multiple separate devices.
2Adaptability or versatility
If a guide wire with fixed helical section is used, then the device structure is simpler, but the adaptability to different lesion sizes and types is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The helical section diameter is made dynamically adjustable through mechanisms that allow expansion and contraction. This enables the same wire to adapt to various lesion sizes by modifying the helical section diameter in situ, providing versatility without requiring a library of different fixed-diameter wires.
Solution Approach 2:
The wire incorporates variable stiffness characteristics along its length and the ability to change stiffness dynamically. This parameter change allows the wire to be sufficiently compliant for navigation yet sufficiently rigid for traversing hard occlusions, adapting to different lesion characteristics without structural complexity.
3Manufacturing precision
If manual manipulation of the guide wire is used, then the operation is simpler, but the precision and control for creating a bore through the lesion is insufficient
Solution Approach 1:
Manual mechanical manipulation is replaced with a robotic catheter system that provides automated, precise control of the guide wire. The robotic system can accurately position and maneuver the wire through complex vascular anatomy and precisely control the bore creation process, achieving manufacturing-level precision that manual operation cannot match.
Solution Approach 2:
The guide wire incorporates self-centering and self-positioning features through its helical geometry and interaction with the occlusion tissue. As the wire is advanced and rotated, the helical section naturally engages the lesion and creates a centered bore without requiring complex active control mechanisms, maintaining ease of operation while improving precision.
4Productivity
If a guide wire without vibration capability is used, then the device is simpler, but the efficiency of traversing calcified or dense occlusions is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The guide wire incorporates a vibration mechanism that generates controlled oscillations in the helical section. This vibration enhances the wire's ability to traverse calcified or dense occlusions by preventing tissue adhesion and facilitating penetration through the occlusion, significantly improving traversal efficiency for difficult lesions.
Solution Approach 2:
The vibration capability is localized to the distal helical section where it is most needed for occlusion traversal, rather than the entire wire. This segmented approach provides the productivity benefit of vibration where required while minimizing the overall device complexity and energy requirements.
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 system enables precise and effective traversal of vascular lesions, allowing for improved blood flow by creating a suitable bore for catheter placement and treatment, thereby enhancing the efficacy of catheter-based interventions for vascular diseases.
Implementation Method 1
a first actuating mechanism coupled to first percutaneous device and configured to engage and to impart axial and rotational movement to the first percutaneous device
Implementation Method 2
a second actuating mechanism coupled to the first percutaneous device and configured to change a diameter of the helical section of the first percutaneous device to a first diameter to create a bore of a first size through the vascular lesion
Implementation Method 3
incorporating an occlusion traversal guide wire with adjustable helical end sections and vibration capabilities to enhance traversal efficiency
Data Source
AI summary
A robotic catheter procedure system for performing a procedure to treat a vascular lesion includes a first percutaneous device extending through a lumen and out of a distal end of a second percutaneous device, the first percutaneous device comprising a helical section, a first actuating mechanism coupled to first percutaneous device and configured to engage and to impart axial and rotational movement to the first percutaneous device, and a second actuating mechanism coupled to the first percutaneous device and configured to change a diameter of the helical section of the first percutaneous device to a first diameter to create a bore of a first size through the vascular lesion.