LAA Occluder Frame Alignment to Reduce Deployment Resistance
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current implantable devices for occluding left atrial appendages face challenges due to variability in ostium size and volume, leading to inadequate fit and potential tangling and resistance during deployment, which complicates positioning and delivery.
Innovation Solution
A medical device system with a deflectable sheath and adjustable pivot locations, along with a slidable tubular member and control wires, allows for precise alignment and minimizes resistance by enabling the sheath to adapt to the atrial appendage anatomy, facilitating repeated anchoring and disengagement.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If the medical device is repeatedly anchored and disengaged to adjust position, then positioning accuracy is improved, but component tangling occurs due to dynamic forces from the beating heart
Solution Approach 1:
The delivery sheath incorporates a deflectable portion that can dynamically adjust its curvature in response to the beating heart's motion. This dynamic adaptability allows the sheath to maintain proper alignment and reduce component tangling while enabling repeated anchoring and disengagement for precise positioning.
Solution Approach 2:
The sheath's deflection characteristics are modified by changing its structural parameters - specifically incorporating a deflectable portion with specific rigidity and curvature properties. This allows the sheath to adapt its shape dynamically during the procedure, reducing tangling while maintaining positioning accuracy.
2Stability of the object's composition
If the medical device components are made more resistant to each other for stable delivery, then delivery stability is improved, but tactile feel for the physician is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
Different portions of the delivery system have different friction characteristics. The sheath and catheter are designed with specific surface properties in different zones - some areas have higher friction for stable delivery, while other areas have lower friction to maintain tactile feedback. This localized differentiation of friction properties resolves the contradiction between stability and tactile feel.
3Stability of the object's composition
If the sheath is made more rigid for stable delivery, then delivery stability is improved, but adaptability to varying atrial appendage anatomy is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The sheath is designed with a deflectable portion that allows it to dynamically change its configuration. The proximal portion maintains rigidity for stable delivery, while the distal deflectable portion can adapt to varying anatomies. This dynamic design allows the sheath to transition from a rigid delivery state to a flexible deployment state.
Solution Approach 2:
The sheath is segmented into different portions with different mechanical properties - a proximal rigid portion for stable delivery and a distal deflectable portion for anatomy adaptation. This segmentation allows each portion to perform its specific function optimally without compromising the other.
Data Source
AI summary
Medical devices, systems and methods for occluding a left atrial appendage of a heart. In one embodiment, a medical device system includes a pusher catheter with a medical device coupled adjacent a distal end of the pusher catheter. The medical device includes a primary hub and a secondary hub with a framework extending therebetween, the primary hub including grooves defined therein. The framework is moveable between constricted and expanded positions such that as the framework moves to the constricted position the grooves are configured to align portions of the framework as the secondary hub moves through the bore of the primary hub. In another embodiment, components of the framework may be configured to minimize resistance in the system as the medical device is delivered and moved between the constricted and expanded positions.