Modular Catheter with Adjustable Lumen and Cuff for Pediatric Sizing
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Solution Overview
Problem
Pediatric patients with acute kidney injury and end-stage renal disease require hemodialysis, but existing central venous catheters are typically adult-sized, leading to discomfort, incorrect tip positioning, and increased risks of arrhythmia and thrombosis due to excessive subcutaneous tract lengths and diameters, making optimal sizing challenging for children.
Innovation Solution
A modular tunneled catheter system with adjustable lumen length and cuff positioning, featuring a trimmable lumen and an adjustable cuff that can be customized to fit individual patient measurements, allowing for optimal placement in major veins and reducing the risk of complications through antegrade or retrograde tunneling.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If adult-sized central venous catheters are used in pediatric patients, then the catheter structure is simple and manufacturing is easy, but the catheter causes patient discomfort, incorrect tip positioning, and increased risks of arrhythmia and thrombosis due to excessive subcutaneous tract lengths and diameters
Solution Approach 1:
The catheter system is divided into separate modular components: a catheter body, a detachable extension segment, and a hub assembly. This allows the catheter to be customized for pediatric patients by using only the necessary portion of the catheter body, reducing the subcutaneous tract length to appropriate dimensions while maintaining the simplicity of individual components.
Solution Approach 2:
The catheter system incorporates adjustable and reconfigurable elements, including the ability to detach and reposition the extension segment, and to adjust the hub positioning. This dynamic capability allows optimal tip positioning in pediatric patients while maintaining ease of manufacture for each individual component.
2Adaptability or versatility
If a fixed-length catheter is used, then the manufacturing process is simple and fast, but the catheter cannot be optimally sized for pediatric patients of varying sizes
Solution Approach 1:
The catheter is manufactured as a long catheter body that can be cut to various lengths and configured with detachable extension segments. This segmentation allows a single manufacturing process to produce a base component that can be adapted to multiple pediatric size requirements, balancing manufacturing simplicity with size adaptability.
Solution Approach 2:
The catheter system is designed as a universal platform that can serve pediatric patients of various sizes through configuration rather than manufacturing different sizes. The same basic catheter body can be adapted for different patients by adjusting the extension segment length and hub positioning, maintaining ease of manufacture while achieving size adaptability.
3Reliability
If a modular catheter system with adjustable components is implemented, then optimal sizing and positioning for pediatric patients is achieved, but the device complexity and assembly requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The modular components are designed with dynamic assembly features including snap-fit connections, detachable segments, and adjustable hub positioning mechanisms. These features enable quick assembly and reconfiguration at the point of care without requiring complex procedures, maintaining ease of operation while achieving reliable positioning.
Solution Approach 2:
The catheter system incorporates self-aligning and self-securing features in the modular connections, where components automatically position and lock together during assembly. This reduces the skill level and time required for assembly while maintaining positioning accuracy, balancing reliability with ease of operation.
Data Source
AI summary
A modular tunneled catheter is provided that allows lumen length and cuff positioning to be adjusted based on the size of a patient. This catheter should be useful for any patient who would benefit from customized fitting of a catheter to their measurements. Methods of using the modular catheter for hemodialysis, peritoneal dialysis, and fluid drainage, including drainage of plural effusions from the lungs or malignant ascites from the abdomen are also described.