Image-Guided Needle Positioning for Reproducible Coronary Occlusion
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Current methods for inducing heart failure in rodent models, such as left anterior descending artery ligation, are low-throughput, highly dependent on surgeon skill, cause significant tissue damage, and result in variable outcomes due to manual ligation and high mortality.
Innovation Solution
An apparatus with independently movable needle-holding devices and an imaging device for guiding needle placement, allowing minimally invasive occlusion of coronary vessels in animals, enabling precise and reproducible ischemia/reperfusion injury induction.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If manual ligation and suture-based methods are used for coronary occlusion, then the procedure can be performed with simple equipment, but the reproducibility and consistency of occlusion are poor due to surgeon skill dependency
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces manual mechanical ligation with an automated micromanipulator system that uses motorized positioning and imaging guidance to locate and occlude coronary vessels. This substitution of manual mechanical operations with automated systems eliminates surgeon skill dependency and improves reproducibility while maintaining reasonable device complexity through integrated automation.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent employs imaging devices (ultrasound, fluoroscopy, or optical imaging) to create visual copies or representations of the coronary vessel location and anatomy. This allows the system to navigate and occlude vessels based on image guidance rather than direct manual manipulation, significantly improving positioning accuracy and reproducibility across different operators.
2Ease of operation
If open-chest surgery with thoracotomy is performed for LAD ligation, then direct access to coronary vessels is achieved, but significant tissue damage and systemic inflammatory response occur
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces imaging devices as intermediaries that enable visualization and guidance of coronary vessels through intact tissue planes. This allows the system to navigate to target vessels without requiring open-chest surgery, using image-based mapping to guide needle or catheter placement through smaller access points, thereby reducing tissue trauma while maintaining access.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent extracts the essential function of visualizing and accessing coronary vessels from the invasive thoracotomy procedure. By separating the visualization function (performed by imaging devices) from the occlusion function (performed by remotely guided needles or catheters), the system achieves vessel access through minimally invasive percutaneous or transesophageal routes, eliminating the need for chest opening and reducing tissue damage.
3Object-affected harmful factors
If conventional suture-based closed-chest models are used for coronary occlusion, then the procedure is less invasive, but the occlusion process requires two steps and is highly time-intensive
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges the localization, navigation, and occlusion functions into a single integrated procedure. The micromanipulator system with imaging guidance allows the operator to visualize the coronary vessel, position the occlusion device, and perform occlusion in one continuous workflow, eliminating the two-step process required by conventional suture-based methods and significantly reducing procedure time while maintaining minimal invasiveness.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent performs preliminary imaging and navigation to pre-position the occlusion device near the target coronary vessel before final occlusion. This preliminary positioning and visualization allows for rapid deployment and occlusion without requiring time-consuming manual suturing or ligature placement, reducing overall procedure duration while maintaining the minimally invasive approach.
4Productivity
If manual ligation procedures are performed for coronary occlusion, then the equipment required is simple, but the procedure has high mortality and low throughput due to time intensity and skill dependency
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces manual mechanical ligation operations with an automated micromanipulator system that uses motorized positioning, imaging guidance, and computer control to perform coronary occlusion. This automation increases throughput by eliminating skill-dependent variations and reducing procedure time, while the integrated system design keeps device complexity manageable through coordinated automation of multiple functions.
Data Source
AI summary
There is provided an apparatus for positioning or navigating at least two needles (2) relative to an object, comprising at least two holding devices (3) for movably holding the needles (2), wherein the holding devices (3) each comprise an adjusting device (4) for moving the needles (2) independently of each other and relative to the object. Further, a system comprising such an apparatus and an imaging device (7) for monitoring and/or guiding a position of at least one needle (2) in the object and a method for induction of a heart failure in an animal with the use of such an apparatus or with the use of such a system are provided.