Multilumen Medical Tube with Embedded Lumen Bundle
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing medical tubes lack flexibility and stability in various usage conditions, particularly in medical applications where high and low-pressure lumens are required, and they often have limitations in pressure resistance and material compatibility.
Innovation Solution
A multilumen tube design featuring a polymer tube body with embedded high-pressure and low-pressure lumens as a bundle, where the high-pressure lumen is resistant to pressures up to 130 bar and the low-pressure lumen is resistant to up to 30 bar, with optional reinforcement and sheathing for increased stability and signal transmission capabilities, using materials like thermoplastic polyurethane, polyamide, and stainless steel.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Device complexity
If multiple lumens are formed directly in the tube body material, then the tube structure is simpler, but the position precision and stability of lumens are reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The tube is divided into separate functional components: individual lumen elements (high-pressure and low-pressure) are manufactured separately and then assembled into the tube body. This segmentation allows each lumen to be precisely formed and positioned independently, improving manufacturing precision while maintaining structural organization through modular assembly.
Solution Approach 2:
The lumen elements are nested within the tube body structure, with each lumen positioned in a specific location and surrounded by the tube material. This nesting arrangement ensures precise positioning and stability of multiple lumens within the tube, allowing complex multi-lumen configurations to be achieved with high positional accuracy.
2Ease of manufacture
If the tube uses a single material for the tube body, then the manufacturing process is simpler, but the adaptability to different pressure requirements is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
Different regions of the tube are assigned different materials based on their specific functional requirements. The high-pressure lumen region uses materials with high pressure resistance (such as fluorinated polymers or cross-linked polymers), while the low-pressure lumen region uses softer materials (such as thermoplastic elastomers). This local differentiation allows the tube to meet diverse pressure requirements while maintaining manufacturability through co-extrusion or multi-layer construction.
Solution Approach 2:
The tube body is constructed using composite materials with different properties in different layers or regions. By combining materials with varying pressure resistance, flexibility, and chemical resistance characteristics, the tube achieves adaptability to different pressure requirements while maintaining a unified structure that can be manufactured in one process.
3Adaptability or versatility
If the tube body material is soft and flexible, then the tube is more adaptable to bending, but the structural stability and lumen positioning are reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The tube uses a flexible polymer matrix material that provides inherent flexibility and adaptability to bending. This flexible base material allows the tube to conform to various anatomical paths while maintaining the integrity of the embedded lumen structures through their precise positioning and stabilization mechanisms.
Solution Approach 2:
The tube employs composite construction combining flexible polymer materials with stabilizing elements. The flexible polymer provides bendability and adaptability, while the embedded lumen structures with their defined positions and the overall composite architecture provide structural stability, creating a balance between flexibility and stability.
Data Source
AI summary
A tube has a tube body. In the tube body, at least one high-pressure lumen and at least one low-pressure lumen are embedded. The at least one high-pressure lumen and the at least one low-pressure lumen are embedded in the tube body as a bundle configured as a lumen bundle. As a result, a tube body is obtained that is flexibly adaptable to various conditions of use.