Modular Catheter with Rotating Connectors for Tortuous Vessels
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing percutaneous transcatheter techniques for delivering prosthetic heart valves face challenges in navigating tortuous vasculature due to limited catheter flexibility and stiffness, particularly when encountering multiple anatomical bends, leading to potential patient trauma and procedural difficulties.
Innovation Solution
A catheter design featuring interconnected tubular segments with spine wires and rotating connectors allows for bending in multiple planes, providing uniform stiffness in tension and compression while enabling flexible navigation through complex anatomies.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Strength
If the catheter is made stiffer to facilitate delivery through the vasculature, then the delivery capability is improved, but the ability to navigate tortuous anatomy and bend through anatomical turns deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The catheter is divided into multiple segments connected by connectors, allowing each segment to bend independently in multiple planes. This segmentation enables the catheter to navigate tortuous anatomy while maintaining overall structural integrity and stiffness for delivery.
Solution Approach 2:
The connectors between segments are designed to rotate relative to each other, providing dynamic adaptability. This rotation capability allows the catheter to change its configuration in real-time to accommodate anatomical turns while maintaining the necessary stiffness for successful delivery.
2Ease of operation
If the catheter is made more flexible to navigate tortuous anatomy, then the ease of navigation is improved, but the stability and control during delivery deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
By segmenting the catheter, the system achieves a balance where each segment can flex independently for easy navigation, while the connected segments work together to maintain stability during delivery. The modular design allows localized flexibility without compromising overall reliability.
Solution Approach 2:
The catheter incorporates spine wires within the tubular segments to provide structural support and stability. This composite construction combines flexible tubular material with rigid spine wires, achieving both ease of navigation and delivery stability simultaneously.
3Device complexity
If the catheter uses a single rigid structure for simplicity, then the manufacturing complexity is reduced, but the ability to bend in multiple planes and navigate complex anatomies deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The catheter is divided into multiple segments connected by connectors that can rotate relative to each other. This segmentation enables multi-plane bending capability while keeping each individual segment relatively simple in structure, balancing device complexity with adaptability.
Solution Approach 2:
The connectors are designed to rotate in multiple dimensions, allowing the catheter to bend in multiple planes. This multi-dimensional rotation capability enables navigation through complex anatomies while maintaining manageable structural complexity through standardized connector designs.
Data Source
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AI summary
The present disclosure provides a catheter including a plurality of a segments, each segment having a stiffener extending along its length. The plurality of segments are interconnected with connectors such that each of the segments can bend in multiple planes via rotation of the connectors.