Modified Polyamide Elastomers for Medical Balloons
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current medical devices, particularly those used in cardiovascular procedures like PTCA, require materials with enhanced flexibility, stress resistance, and reduced water absorption to ensure effective treatment with minimal invasive surgery while maintaining stability and dimensional integrity.
Innovation Solution
Modified polyamides or polyamide elastomers are produced by reacting polyamides with mono-substituted α,ω-di-carboxylic acids or their alkyl esters and heating them above 150°C, resulting in polymers with improved flexibility, tensile strength, and tear resistance, suitable for medical devices such as balloons, stents, and catheters.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Strength
If conventional polyamides are used in medical devices, then the devices can be manufactured with standard materials, but the flexibility and stress resistance are insufficient for minimal invasive surgery
Solution Approach 1:
The patent modifies the polyamide structure by changing chemical parameters - specifically introducing alpha-omega carboxylic acid groups that can form hydrogen bonds. This chemical modification alters the physical properties to achieve both high strength and flexibility simultaneously, resolving the contradiction between stress resistance and adaptability for medical applications
Solution Approach 2:
The invention creates a composite structure within the polyamide molecule itself - combining the base polyamide chains with carboxylic acid end groups that form intermolecular hydrogen bonds. This internal composite structure provides both the strength of hydrogen bonding networks and the flexibility of the polyamide backbone, enabling minimal invasive surgical applications
2Reliability
If polyamides are used in cardiovascular procedures, then the devices can perform basic functions, but water absorption compromises stability and dimensional integrity
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the chemical parameters of the polyamide by introducing hydrophobic carboxylic acid end groups that form hydrogen bonds with each other rather than with water molecules. This parameter change reduces the polymer's affinity for water, thereby reducing water absorption and improving stability and dimensional integrity in cardiovascular procedures
Solution Approach 2:
The invention converts the typically harmful water absorption property into a benefit by using the carboxylic acid groups to form internal hydrogen bonds that prevent water penetration. The hydrogen bonding capability that could potentially attract water is instead directed inward to create a stable, water-resistant network, improving reliability while maintaining the polyamide's fundamental properties
3Productivity
If standard polyamides are used for medical balloons, then the production process is economical, but the materials cannot withstand the strains of increasing numbers of treated patients
Solution Approach 1:
The patent achieves improved stress resistance through chemical parameter modification rather than complete material replacement. By introducing carboxylic acid end groups into existing polyamide structures, the invention enhances durability to withstand repeated patient treatments while maintaining compatibility with economical production processes used for medical balloons
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 modified polymers exhibit superior flexibility and stability, reducing the risk of damage during insertion and maintaining structural integrity during surgery, while also offering lower water absorption and improved resistance to thermo-oxidation, thus enhancing the performance of medical devices in vascular environments.
Implementation Method 1
heating to a temperature above 150° C.
Implementation Method 2
lower water absorption
Implementation Method 3
improved resistance to thermo-oxidation
Data Source
AI summary
The present invention refers to medical devices comprising a modified polyamide or to modified polyamides or modified polyamide elastomers with the polyamides having high flexibility and high stress resistance, especially tensile strength or tear resistance, in addition to the good physical characteristics of the known polyamide elastomers.