Body Lumen Flow Modulator Using Entrainment Pressure Gradients
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing therapies for conditions such as heart failure, hypertension, and kidney disease fail to effectively improve blood flow and kidney function, leading to complications like fluid retention and organ damage, and existing treatments like TIPS bypass the liver, causing complications.
Innovation Solution
Devices and methods are provided to create pressure differences and fluid entrainment in body lumens, using an upstream flow accelerator and downstream flow decelerator to enhance fluid flow, reducing pressure and improving flow in stenotic lumens, diverting emboli, and enhancing kidney and liver functionality without external energy sources or moving parts.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If conventional therapies (diuretics, ACE inhibitors, ARBs) are used to treat heart failure and kidney disease, then fluid retention and blood pressure are managed, but blood flow improvement is insufficient and kidney function does not effectively improve
Solution Approach 1:
The device utilizes hydraulic principles by positioning flow modulators in the inferior vena cava to alter blood flow dynamics. The upstream flow accelerator and downstream flow decelerator create pressure differences that enhance venous return and improve renal perfusion, directly addressing the insufficiency of conventional pharmacological therapies in improving blood flow and kidney function.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention changes physical parameters of blood flow by creating controlled pressure gradients through the flow modulators. By altering flow velocity, pressure distribution, and shear stress in the venous system, the device achieves improved renal blood flow and GFR without relying on neural or hormonal mechanisms, thereby overcoming the limitations of conventional therapies.
2Speed
If TIPS procedure is used to treat portal hypertension, then blood flow is improved, but liver functionality is compromised due to bypassing the liver
Solution Approach 1:
The device acts as an intermediary mechanism that improves blood flow without creating direct bypasses. By positioning flow modulators in the inferior vena cava, the system enhances venous return and renal perfusion through controlled pressure gradients, thereby improving blood flow while preserving hepatic function, unlike TIPS which creates direct bypasses that compromise liver functionality.
3Productivity
If external energy sources or moving parts are added to enhance fluid flow, then flow improvement is achieved, but device complexity and risk increase
Solution Approach 1:
The flow modulators are designed to be passive devices that utilize the body's own hemodynamic forces to achieve flow modification. The upstream flow accelerator and downstream flow decelerator create pressure differences that enhance venous return without requiring external energy sources or moving parts, thereby improving fluid flow while maintaining device simplicity and reducing complexity-related risks.
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
The devices improve kidney and liver function, reduce the risk of stroke, and enhance overall body fluid management by efficiently diverting blood flow with minimal energy loss, potentially reducing the need for diuretics and other therapies.
Implementation Method 1
The flow modulator creates pressure differences to accelerate fluid flow
Implementation Method 2
create pressure differences and fluid entrainment in body lumens
Data Source
AI summary
The devices and methods described herein include a body lumen fluid flow modulator including an upstream flow accelerator and a downstream flow decelerator. The fluid flow modulator preferably includes one or more openings that define a gap/entrainment region that provides a pathway through which additional fluid from a branch lumen(s) is entrained into the fluid stream flowing from the upstream flow accelerator to the downstream flow decelerator.