Hydrated Lubricious Coating for Low-Friction Catheter Navigation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Flexible elongated medical devices, such as catheters and endoscopes, experience friction during navigation through patient anatomy, leading to difficulty in reaching target locations due to increased resistance, stick-slip behavior, and other navigation issues.
Innovation Solution
A flexible elongated device with a lubricious layer and a fluid system that delivers hydration fluid through pores to transition the lubricious layer from a dehydrated to a hydrated condition, reducing friction by increasing lubrication.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If a flexible elongated device is inserted into anatomic passageways, then the device can reach target tissue locations, but friction with passageway walls increases resistance and makes navigation difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The lubricious layer is applied to the device surface before insertion into the anatomic passageway. This preliminary lubrication action reduces friction forces during navigation, allowing the device to move more easily through the passageways without requiring excessive force to overcome resistance.
Solution Approach 2:
The lubricious layer acts as an intermediary substance between the device surface and the passageway walls. This intermediate layer reduces direct contact and friction between the device and the passageway, facilitating smoother navigation while allowing the device to maintain its structural integrity and reach target locations.
2Stability of the object's composition
If the lubricious layer is kept dehydrated, then the device structure remains stable, but friction increases and navigation becomes difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The lubricious layer transitions from a dehydrated stable state to a hydrated lubricious state during or after insertion. This dynamic transformation allows the layer to maintain structural stability when needed while providing lubrication when required for navigation, resolving the contradiction between stability and ease of operation.
Solution Approach 2:
The hydration state of the lubricious layer is changed as a key parameter. By controlling the transition from dehydrated to hydrated condition, the system can adjust the lubrication properties while maintaining structural integrity, allowing the device to navigate easily without compromising layer stability.
3Ease of operation
If the lubricious layer is hydrated, then friction is reduced and navigation is easier, but the layer expands and may affect device precision
Solution Approach 1:
The lubricious layer is hydrated after the device has been inserted into the passageway, not before. This timing ensures that the layer remains compact and precise during insertion, then expands to provide lubrication during navigation, avoiding any impact on device precision while maintaining navigation ease.
Solution Approach 2:
The hydration of the lubricious layer is performed periodically or at specific stages of the procedure rather than continuously. This periodic hydration allows the device to maintain precision during critical insertion phases while providing lubrication during navigation phases, resolving the contradiction between precision and navigation ease.
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 lubricious layer, activated by hydration fluid, enhances navigation by reducing friction, preventing stick-slip behavior, and ensuring the device reaches the target location effectively.
Implementation Method 1
The lubricious layer extending over at least a portion of the flexible elongated device transitions from a dehydrated condition to a hydrated condition when exposed to a liquid
Implementation Method 2
fluid to flow through a pore of the flexible elongated device extending between the fluid channel and a surface of the flexible elongated device
Implementation Method 3
The lubricious layer in the hydrated condition may be thicker than the lubricious layer in the anhydrous condition resulting from expansion of the lubricious layer
Data Source
AI summary
A system may comprise a flexible elongated device including a fluid channel and a pore extending between the fluid channel and a surface of the flexible elongated device and a lubricious layer extending over at least a portion of the surface of the flexible elongated device. The system may also comprise a fluid system coupled to the flexible elongated device and a control system configured to cause fluid to be released by the fluid system to the fluid channel of the flexible elongated device. The fluid in the fluid channel flows through the pore to transition the lubricious layer from a dehydrated condition to a hydrated condition.