Intravascular Lithotripsy Catheter Control With Real-Time GUI
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional intravascular lithotripsy catheter systems lack comprehensive user interfaces, requiring clinicians to rely on external devices for critical information during procedures, and do not adequately monitor or adjust operating parameters in real-time.
Innovation Solution
A catheter system with a system controller that monitors real-time operating parameters, adjusts settings automatically, and provides a graphical user interface for dynamic system status updates, including energy delivery characteristics, treatment site conditions, and emitter status.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of information
If conventional intravascular lithotripsy catheter systems use minimal user interfaces, then device complexity is reduced, but information availability to clinicians deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a graphical user interface that displays multiple parameters (balloon pressure, pulse energy, flow rate, temperature, etc.) simultaneously in a visual format, transforming scalar data points into a multi-dimensional information space that clinicians can comprehend at a glance, thereby resolving the contradiction between information completeness and interface simplicity
Solution Approach 2:
The user interface is designed to serve multiple functions: monitoring real-time parameters, displaying historical data, providing treatment guidance, and enabling system control, all within a single integrated display system, thus improving information availability without proportionally increasing device complexity
2Loss of information
If clinicians use external devices to monitor catheter parameters, then information completeness is improved, but procedural efficiency deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent integrates multiple monitoring functions (pressure sensing, pulse energy measurement, flow rate detection, temperature monitoring) and external device capabilities into the catheter system itself, with all data converging in a single graphical user interface, eliminating the need for clinicians to manage multiple external devices and thereby improving both information completeness and procedural efficiency
3Measurement precision
If real-time monitoring of operating parameters is implemented, then treatment precision is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements real-time feedback loops where sensors continuously monitor operating parameters (balloon pressure, pulse energy, flow rate, temperature) and the graphical user interface displays this data with visual indicators of optimal ranges, enabling clinicians to immediately adjust parameters to maintain treatment precision without overwhelming system complexity
Solution Approach 2:
The system includes automatic parameter adjustment capabilities where the controller can autonomously modify operating parameters based on sensor feedback and pre-programmed treatment protocols, reducing the manual monitoring burden while maintaining high measurement precision and treatment accuracy
4Device complexity
If manual adjustment of operating parameters is used, then device simplicity is maintained, but treatment optimization deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent incorporates automatic parameter adjustment functionality where the system controller autonomously optimizes operating parameters (pulse energy, balloon pressure, flow rate) based on real-time sensor data and treatment feedback, achieving treatment optimization while maintaining relative system simplicity through automated decision-making algorithms
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 procedural efficiency by providing real-time monitoring and automatic adjustments, reducing the need for external devices and improving treatment outcomes by ensuring optimal energy delivery and balloon dimensions.
Implementation Method 1
a high energy source is used to provide energy to an energy guide and/or an emitter in order to generate plasma and, ultimately, pressure waves
Implementation Method 2
generate plasma and, ultimately, pressure waves as well as a rapid bubble expansion within a fluid-filled balloon to crack calcification
Implementation Method 3
The rapid change in fluid momentum upon hitting the balloon wall is known as hydraulic shock or water hammer
Implementation Method 4
an inflatable balloon, including a balloon wall that defines a balloon interior, the inflatable balloon being configured to selectively receive a catheter fluid into the balloon interior
Data Source
AI summary
A catheter system (100) usable for treating a treatment site (106) within or adjacent to a vessel wall (108A) of a blood vessel (108) or a heart valve within a body (107) of a patient (109), the catheter system (100) can include an energy source (124) that generates energy, a catheter (102) that includes an energy guide (122A) that receives the energy from the energy source (124), and a system controller (126) that is coupled to the energy source (124), the system controller (126) being configured to: (i) monitor real-time operating parameters of the catheter system (100), including at least energy delivery characteristics and treatment site conditions, (ii) detect and identify operating parameters that require adjustment, (iii) automatically adjust operating parameters, and (iv) dynamically provide a summary of system status, treatment progress, and actionable alerts.