Intermediate Tubular Member for Bonding Incompatible Medical Materials
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing medical devices, such as balloon catheters, face challenges in joining thermally incompatible materials, which makes direct thermal bonding impractical, leading to difficulties in manufacturing devices with precise flexibility and strength requirements for navigating complex vascular structures.
Innovation Solution
The method involves creating a medical device with a proximal and distal tubular member made of thermally incompatible materials, connected via an intermediate tubular member that is compatible with both, using a molding process where molten resin is injected between these members to form a bonded structure with varying hardness and flexibility, enhancing the device's ability to navigate tortuous vessels.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If thermally incompatible materials are used for proximal and distal tubular members, then material versatility and device adaptability are improved, but direct thermal bonding becomes impossible
Solution Approach 1:
An intermediate tubular member is introduced between the proximal and distal tubular members to serve as a thermal bonding mediator. This intermediate member is thermally compatible with both the proximal and distal members, enabling indirect thermal bonding across the assembly. The intermediate member absorbs the thermal incompatibility barrier, allowing heat to transfer effectively from the proximal member through the intermediate member to the distal member, thus resolving the bonding issue while maintaining material versatility.
2Ease of manufacture
If an intermediate tubular member is added to connect thermally incompatible materials, then bonding feasibility is improved, but device structural complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The intermediate tubular member is integrated into the existing device structure by combining it with the proximal and distal tubular members into a single assembled unit. The intermediate member is positioned between the proximal and distal members and bonded to both, merging three components into a cohesive structural assembly. This integration approach minimizes additional complexity by ensuring the intermediate member serves multiple functions: thermal bonding mediator, structural connector, and mechanical support element.
3Ease of operation
If the intermediate tubular member has varying hardness, then flexibility transitions are improved, but manufacturing precision requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The intermediate tubular member is designed with non-uniform hardness distribution, where different axial regions of the member have different hardness values. This local quality variation allows the proximal region to provide flexibility for navigating tortuous vessels while the distal region provides strength for endoprosthesis deployment. The hardness gradient is achieved through controlled material composition or thermal processing in different regions during manufacturing, creating a functional gradient that matches the mechanical requirements at different locations along the member.
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
This approach allows for the creation of medical devices with improved flexibility and strength transitions, enabling precise deployment of endoprostheses in complex vascular geometries, reducing kinking and improving tracking through tortuous regions of the body.
Implementation Method 1
Molten resin is delivered into a region of the mold between the first and second tubular members. The resin, when set, forms an intermediate tubular member having a composition that differs from a composition of at least one of the first and second tubular members.
Data Source
AI summary
Medical devices including a proximal tubular member, a distal tubular member, and an intermediate tubular member connecting the proximal tubular member to the distal tubular member, and related methods.