Lesion-Sensing Probe Guidance for Clot Removal Decisions
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional medical devices, such as stent-retrievers and aspiration catheters, struggle with non-optimal clot grabbing and aspiration, leading to incomplete clot removal, increased intervention duration, and potential irreparable damage due to the lack of accurate lesion composition analysis and real-time treatment guidance.
Innovation Solution
A medical device with an invasive probe equipped with sensors to analyze lesion composition and generate real-time treatment recommendations based on impedance measurements, providing high-confidence lesion identification and treatment guidance.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If stent-retriever is used to mechanically remove clot, then clot removal capability is improved, but non-optimal grabbing leads to incomplete removal and requires multiple interventions
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies feedback by using sensors to detect clot characteristics (composition, viscosity, elasticity) in real-time during the thrombectomy procedure. This feedback enables the system to adjust treatment parameters and provide guidance on optimal retrieval techniques, improving both the reliability of clot grabbing and overall removal efficiency.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces purely mechanical clot grabbing with a hybrid approach that combines mechanical retrieval with sensor-based detection and data-driven guidance. The sensor system substitutes for trial-and-error mechanical manipulation by providing real-time information about clot properties, enabling more reliable and efficient removal.
2Productivity
If aspiration catheter is used to remove clot, then clot aspiration capability is improved, but clot may block catheter flow and risk embolism formation
Solution Approach 1:
The sensor system provides real-time feedback on clot position, composition, and aspiration progress. This enables early detection of clot fragmentation or embolism risk, allowing the operator to adjust aspiration parameters or retrieve the catheter before harmful events occur.
Solution Approach 2:
The sensor system acts as an intermediary between the aspiration catheter and the clot, providing information that mediates the interaction. By detecting clot characteristics and position, the sensors enable safer aspiration by alerting operators to potential embolism risks before they materialize.
3Reliability
If multiple succession treatments are performed to remove clot, then complete clot removal is achieved, but intervention duration increases and vessel wall injury increases
Solution Approach 1:
The sensor system performs preliminary assessment of clot characteristics (composition, viscosity, elasticity) before the thrombectomy procedure begins. This preliminary information allows operators to select the most appropriate treatment strategy from the start, reducing the need for multiple succession treatments and minimizing intervention duration while ensuring complete removal.
Solution Approach 2:
Real-time sensor feedback during the procedure monitors clot removal progress and provides guidance on treatment effectiveness. This enables operators to determine when complete removal has been achieved, preventing unnecessary additional treatments and reducing overall intervention time.
4Reliability
If stent-retriever is deployed into clot, then clot coalescence with stent may improve retrieval, but insufficient time leads to non-optimal grabbing
Solution Approach 1:
The sensor system monitors the coalescence process in real-time by detecting changes in clot-stent interaction forces and clot characteristics. This feedback provides objective criteria for determining when sufficient coalescence has been achieved, eliminating the need for arbitrary waiting times and improving retrieval reliability.
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
Enhances the accuracy of lesion identification and treatment by offering high-confidence lesion characterization and real-time treatment recommendations, reducing the need for multiple interventions and minimizing patient injury.
Implementation Method 1
The invasive probe may have one or more sensors to sense characteristics of the lesion, including by detecting one or more characteristics of tissues and/or biological materials of the lesion
Data Source
AI summary
Embodiments described relate to a medical device including an invasive probe that, when inserted into an animal (e.g., a human or non-human animal, including a human or non-human mammal), may aid in diagnosing and/or treating a lesion of the animal (e.g., a growth or deposit within vasculature that fully or partially blocks the vasculature). The invasive probe may have one or more sensors to sense characteristics of the lesion, including by detecting one or more characteristics of tissues and/or biological materials of the lesion. The medical device may be configured to analyze the characteristics of a lesion and, based on the analysis, provide treatment recommendations to a clinician. Such treatment recommendations may include a manner in which to treat a lesion, such as which treatment to use to treat a lesion and/or a manner in which to use a treatment device.