Modular Catheter Adapter With Thermal Expansion
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current medical device adapters, such as those for catheters, lack the flexibility and adaptability to modify or expand their configuration or intended use effectively, limiting their functionality and versatility in medical procedures.
Innovation Solution
A modular adapter system with a proximal portion that securely interfaces with the medical device's internal lumen and a distal portion that can expand, augment, or modify the device's configuration, featuring a coil structure that changes size based on temperature or physical restraint to ensure secure attachment and provide additional features like multiple guidewire access or therapeutic agent delivery.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If a fixed-configuration catheter is used, then the device structure is simple and reliable, but the adaptability and versatility are limited
Solution Approach 1:
The catheter system is divided into separate modular components including a catheter body, adapter, and various accessories that can be independently selected and combined. This segmentation allows different configurations to be created from the same basic components, improving adaptability without requiring entirely different devices for each application.
Solution Approach 2:
The adapter serves multiple functions including connecting different catheter sizes, providing additional lumens, and enabling various therapeutic interventions. This multi-functionality allows a single adapter design to address multiple clinical needs, enhancing versatility while maintaining relatively simple device architecture.
2Adaptability or versatility
If multiple specialized catheters are maintained in inventory, then each specific function is optimized, but inventory complexity and cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
A core catheter design combined with interchangeable adapters provides multiple specialized functions using a limited set of base components. This universality reduces the total number of unique catheter products needed in inventory while maintaining the ability to perform various therapeutic functions through adapter selection.
Solution Approach 2:
Smaller catheters or accessories can be nested within or attached to larger catheter systems, allowing a single inventory item to serve multiple size requirements and functional needs. This nesting approach reduces the number of separate catheter products that must be stocked.
3Adaptability or versatility
If an adapter is inserted into the medical device, then the device capabilities are expanded, but the attachment security and positioning stability must be maintained
Solution Approach 1:
The adapter incorporates self-expanding features that automatically engage with the catheter structure upon insertion, providing secure attachment without requiring additional fastening steps or complex mechanisms. This self-service approach ensures reliable positioning while maintaining ease of use.
Solution Approach 2:
The adapter utilizes temperature-responsive or phase-change materials that alter their physical properties (such as expansion or rigidity) in response to environmental conditions, enabling automatic securement to the catheter and ensuring stable positioning during use.
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 modular adapter system enhances the flexibility and functionality of medical devices by allowing secure attachment, expanding their capabilities, such as converting single guidewire access to dual access and enabling the delivery of therapeutic agents, while reducing inventory needs by allowing multiple variants to be created from fewer modules.
Implementation Method 1
a coil structure having geometry and mechanical/thermal properties such that the structure is slightly smaller than the internal lumen to fit within the internal lumen in the operating room environment temperature and then expands to a larger size to secure the adapter to the internal lumen of the medical device when it is in-vivo closer to body temperature
Data Source
AI summary
A modular medical device catheter system comprises a parent module and an adapter module. The adapter module is configured to engage an inner lumen of a distal end of the parent module to couple the adapter module with the parent module.