Multi Chamber Medical Balloon with Heat Conductive Internal Walls
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional medical balloons with non-round cross-sectional shapes face challenges such as increased stiffness, tendency to rupture, and poor repeatability of shape when inflated, due to the difficulty in altering their cross-sectional shape without compromising flexibility and integrity.
Innovation Solution
A medical balloon with a body portion formed from a flexible polymer material containing heat conductive particles, which enhances heat transfer during the balloon formation process, allowing for the creation of balloons with multiple chambers and non-round axial shapes, optimizing flexibility and stability.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Shape
If a balloon is made with non-round cross-sectional shape, then the balloon can achieve desired axial shape, but the balloon wall becomes stiffer and more prone to rupture
Solution Approach 1:
The balloon is divided into multiple independent chambers separated by internal walls. Each chamber can be inflated independently or simultaneously, allowing the overall balloon to achieve complex non-round axial shapes while each individual chamber maintains a simpler circular cross-section that resists rupture better
Solution Approach 2:
The balloon wall and internal walls are constructed from composite materials with enhanced mechanical properties. The use of multi-layer polymer structures or reinforced materials increases the strength-to-weight ratio, allowing the balloon to maintain non-round shapes without becoming excessively stiff or prone to rupture
2Adaptability or versatility
If internal walls are added to create multiple chambers, then the balloon can achieve non-round axial shape and selective inflation, but the balloon becomes stiffer particularly when deflated
Solution Approach 1:
The internal walls are designed with varying thicknesses and material properties in different regions. Thinner sections are placed where flexibility is needed, while thicker sections provide structural support where shape maintenance is critical. This localized variation allows the deflated balloon to remain flexible while still achieving complex shapes when inflated
Solution Approach 2:
The balloon structure is designed to be dynamically adaptable - when deflated, the internal walls flex and fold to maintain overall flexibility; when inflated, the internal walls stabilize to maintain the desired non-round axial shape. The system transitions between flexible and rigid states based on inflation pressure
3Manufacturing precision
If heat conductive particles are embedded in internal walls, then heat transfer during balloon formation is improved, but the manufacturing process becomes more complex
Solution Approach 1:
Heat conductive particles (such as metal powders or ceramic particles) are embedded within the polymer material of the internal walls during the extrusion or molding process. This creates a composite material that conducts heat more effectively, ensuring uniform heating and softening of the balloon wall during formation, while the particles are distributed in a way that does not significantly complicate the manufacturing process
Solution Approach 2:
The thermal conductivity of the internal wall material is enhanced by adding heat conductive particles, which changes the thermal parameters of the material. This allows for more controlled and uniform heat distribution during balloon formation, improving manufacturing precision without requiring fundamentally different manufacturing processes
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 use of heat conductive particles in the internal walls of the balloon enables proper formation and flexibility, allowing for the creation of balloons with multiple chambers and selective inflation, improving stability and reducing the risk of rupture while maintaining structural integrity.
Implementation Method 1
the polymer material of the internal wall having heat conductive particles embedded therein. The heat conductive particles in the internal wall have the function of transferring heat during the balloon blowing process into the internal walls, allowing these to soften and expand
Data Source
AI summary
A medical balloon includes at least one internal wall dividing the balloon into a plurality of separate chambers which may be separately inflatable and deflatable. The at least one internal wall is impregnated with heat conductive particles. The heat conductive particles enable heat produced during the balloon blowing process to pass through the polymer material of the balloon and specifically into the internal wall or walls, enabling these to soften and stretch during the process. This improves the integrity of the balloon and also balloon flexibility. The radiopaque particles embedded in the internal wall or walls of the balloon can also, in preferred embodiments, be of radiopaque material, providing the balloon with imaging visibility during deployment thereof in a patient.