Micro-catheter Wire Deviation Control via Guard Portion
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Solution Overview
Problem
Catheters with small diameters, such as micro-catheters, face challenges in bending their distal portions due to the thinness of operation wires, which easily buckle and fail to transmit sufficient force for bending, leading to issues with wire deviation during turning operations.
Innovation Solution
A medical device featuring a sheath portion with flexibility, paired operation wires, and a turning operation portion with a winding mechanism and guard portion to prevent wire deviation, where the guard portion is positioned radially outward and integrated with the winding portion to manage the pulling and loosening of operation wires effectively.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Volume of moving object
If a thin operation wire is used in a micro-catheter, then the catheter can be inserted into peripheral blood vessels, but the operation wire bends easily and buckles, making it impossible to transmit sufficient pushing force to bend the distal portion
Solution Approach 1:
The operation wire is segmented into multiple sections with different properties. The distal portion has a smaller diameter for flexibility and insertion, while the proximal portion has a larger diameter for force transmission. This segmentation allows the wire to fulfill both requirements of being thin for insertion and strong for bending control.
Solution Approach 2:
The thin distal portion of the operation wire is nested within or connected to a thicker proximal portion. This nested structure allows the thin section to provide flexibility for catheter insertion while the thicker section provides the necessary mechanical strength for force transmission and bending control.
2Ease of operation
If one operation wire is pulled to bend the catheter, then the catheter can be directed, but the loosening amount of another operation wire necessarily becomes large, causing the wire to deviate from the operation panel
Solution Approach 1:
The operation wires are preliminarily pre-loaded with tension before the catheter is inserted into the body. This preliminary tensioning ensures that when one wire is pulled to bend the catheter, the other wires maintain sufficient tension to remain engaged with the operation panel, preventing deviation while still allowing directional control.
Solution Approach 2:
The initial tension parameter of the operation wires is adjusted to an optimal value that balances two requirements: allowing sufficient movement for catheter bending while maintaining enough tension to prevent wire deviation from the operation panel during turning operations.
Data Source
AI summary
A medical device is provided, including: a sheath portion (10); a pair of operation wires (30); and a turning operation portion (60) in which the sheath portion (10) is bent in a direction corresponding to the pulled one operation wire (30) through a turning operation. The turning operation portion (60) includes a wire fixation panel (64) around which the operation wires (30) are wound on a side peripheral surface; and a penetration portion (63c) and a closing portion (63d) which are provided further radially outwards than the side peripheral surface of the wire fixation panel (64) and at a position facing the side peripheral surface, so as to be integrated with the wire fixation panel (64).