Microaxial Pump Venous Shear Stress for CTC Cluster Disruption
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current methods for treating cancer fail to effectively address the risk of metastasis formation by circulating tumor cells and clusters, as they can still be released into the bloodstream during surgical procedures, leading to potential metastasis formation despite the removal of the primary tumor.
Innovation Solution
A device using a microaxial pump with a pressure-increasing section and a radially projecting throttle is placed in the venous outflow of the affected organ to generate shear stresses in the range of 200-500 Pa, breaking up circulating tumor cell clusters and inactivating single tumor cells, thereby reducing the risk of metastasis without damaging other blood components.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If surgical procedures are used to remove primary tumors, then the primary tumor is destroyed, but circulating tumor cells are released into the bloodstream increasing metastasis risk
Solution Approach 1:
The device is placed in the venous outflow of the affected organ before tumor cells can complete their metastatic process. By positioning the shear stress-generating structure upstream in the circulation path, tumor cells are exposed to inactivating forces immediately after potential release from the tumor, preventing their ability to colonize distant sites.
Solution Approach 2:
The device exploits the natural blood flow and pressure gradients that normally transport tumor cells to convert these same forces into beneficial shear stresses. The physiological blood flow itself becomes the mechanism for delivering inactivating forces to tumor cells, turning the harmful transport function into a therapeutic advantage.
2Reliability
If shear stresses of 200-500 Pa are applied to break up tumor cell clusters, then tumor cells are inactivated, but other blood components may be damaged
Solution Approach 1:
The device creates localized regions of high shear stress (200-500 Pa) only within the shear stress-generating structure where tumor cells are concentrated. The shear stress is highly localized to specific zones rather than being distributed throughout the entire bloodstream, allowing intense inactivating forces to be applied precisely where needed while leaving other blood components in lower stress environments.
Solution Approach 2:
The device applies shear stresses that exceed normal physiological levels (200-500 Pa versus typical physiological shear stresses of 1-10 Pa) but only partially and locally within the shear stress-generating structure. This partial excessive action is sufficient to inactivate tumor cells while being limited in scope and duration to prevent damage to healthy blood components.
3Reliability
If a pump is placed in venous outflow to generate shear stresses, then tumor cell clusters are broken up, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The shear stress-generating structure serves multiple functions simultaneously: it acts as a flow resistance element, a shear stress generator, and a tumor cell inactivation device. By combining these functions into a single integrated structure rather than separate components, the device reduces overall system complexity while maintaining therapeutic effectiveness.
Solution Approach 2:
The device utilizes the natural kinetic energy and pressure of flowing blood itself to generate the required shear stresses. Rather than requiring an external power source or active pumping mechanism, the physiological blood flow provides the energy needed to create inactivating shear forces within the shear stress-generating structure, making the system self-powered and simpler.
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 device effectively transforms tumor cell clusters into single cells, inactivating them and reducing the risk of metastasis formation while minimizing harm to other blood components, with preliminary tests showing no hemolysis even when 90% of circulating tumor cells are destroyed.
Implementation Method 1
generate shear stresses in the range of 200-500 Pa, breaking up circulating tumor cell clusters and inactivating single tumor cells
Data Source
Figure 1~2
Figure 3a
Figure 3b
AI summary
The invention relates to a device and method for the comminution or inactivation of circulating tumor cells (CTC) or circulating tumor cell clusters (CTCC) in an organ or organ part with a tumour. According to the invention, a pump (2) having a pressure-increasing section and a pressure-reducing restrictor (13) is mounted in the venous discharge of the organ or organ part with a tumour, and the pump is operated on the outlet side at the operating point defined by the volume flow (Q) and the pump pressure (p) corresponding to the volume flow and the blood pressure of the venous outflow (VA) of the organ or organ part with a tumour. Circulating tumor cells (CTC) and tumor cell clusters (CTCC) are comminuted in this way and inactivated in order to reduce the risk of metastasis formation in cancerous diseases.