Locking Collar Joint Assembly for Endovascular Clot Retrieval
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Solution Overview
Problem
Endovascular devices face challenges in navigating tortuous blood vessel anatomy, particularly at the aortic arch and distal end of the internal carotid artery, leading to compressive and tensile loading issues that can cause joint disassembly and clot escape during mechanical thrombectomy procedures.
Innovation Solution
The development of enhanced joint assemblies for endovascular devices, featuring a shaft, proximal strut with a slot, and a locking collar that provides increased load support by constraining the proximal strut to prevent disengagement under tension, using materials like UHMWPE, Aramid, or metals, and designed to fit within microcatheters for neurovascular procedures.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If adhesive or weld bonds are used to connect joint components, then manufacturing complexity is reduced, but joint strength and integrity deteriorate under high tensile loads
Solution Approach 1:
The joint assembly is divided into separate components (shaft, proximal strut, locking collar) that can be manufactured independently and then assembled through mechanical interlocking rather than requiring integral formation with adhesives or welds. This segmentation allows each component to be optimized for its specific function while maintaining strong connections through the locking mechanism.
Solution Approach 2:
The shaft includes a pre-formed enlarged end portion and the proximal strut includes a pre-formed slot, creating a mechanical interlock structure before final assembly. The locking collar is designed to engage these pre-formed features, ensuring proper alignment and load distribution before the device is subjected to operational forces.
2Adaptability or versatility
If the device is designed to navigate tortuous vasculature, then adaptability to different vessel configurations is improved, but tensile and compressive loads on joint components increase
Solution Approach 1:
The joint assembly is designed with controlled flexibility to accommodate the dynamic forces encountered during navigation of tortuous vessels. The locking collar and slot engagement allow for controlled movement and force distribution, enabling the device to adapt to vessel curvature while maintaining structural integrity under varying load conditions.
3Stability of the object's composition
If the locking collar completely encloses the shaft enlarged end, then joint stability is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The locking collar provides enclosure and stability only at the critical interface between the shaft enlarged end and the proximal strut slot. Rather than completely enclosing the entire joint assembly, the collar is designed to engage specifically with the enlarged end portion, providing localized stability where it is most needed while minimizing overall device complexity.
Data Source
AI summary
A joint assembly for an endovascular device, comprising a shaft comprising a main body and an enlarged end, a proximal strut comprising a slot, wherein the slot engages the enlarged end of the shaft and a locking collar comprising a proximal face and a distal face, and at least partially covering the enlarged end of the shaft and the slot of the proximal strut, such that the locking collar constrains the proximal strut such that the proximal strut cannot disengage from the enlarged end of the shaft when the joint assembly and the clot retrieval device is under load.