Multistage Braided Occluder with Bioabsorbable Head
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing occluders for heart or blood vessel defects face issues such as long-term tissue damage from permanent closure heads, metal corrosion, wire accumulation at the distal end increasing resistance, and difficulty in using smaller sheaths, which elevate surgical risks and complications.
Innovation Solution
An occluder with a multistage braided mesh structure, where the first-stage braided mesh has a smaller cross-sectional area upon compression, and a bioabsorbable closure head at the distal end, made of materials like magnesium, eliminating permanent metal exposure and reducing wire accumulation, allowing for easier insertion into smaller sheaths.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a permanent closure head is provided at the distal end of the occluder, then the occluder can maintain its structural integrity and provide stable closure, but it causes long-term damage to tissues inside the heart, increases metal exposure and corrosion risk, and is not conducive to epithelialization
Solution Approach 1:
The patent removes the permanent closure head from the distal end of the occluder, extracting the harmful element that caused tissue damage and corrosion. Instead, the distal end is designed with an opening that allows the occluder to be pushed through the defect without leaving a permanent metal structure, thereby eliminating the harmful effects while maintaining closure functionality through the mesh structure itself
Solution Approach 2:
The patent employs a bioabsorbable closure head at the proximal end that is designed to be gradually absorbed by the human body over time. This replaces the permanent metal closure head with a temporary structure that performs its closure function and then naturally degrades, eliminating long-term metal exposure and corrosion risks while maintaining structural integrity during the critical healing period
2Ease of operation
If the occluder is designed with a structure that avoids wire accumulation at the distal end, then resistance during sheath insertion is reduced, but the application range is limited and surgery difficulty increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent divides the braided mesh into multiple stages with different wire configurations. The first-stage braided mesh has a smaller cross-sectional area when compressed, allowing easy passage through the sheath, while subsequent stages expand to provide adequate application range. This segmentation enables the occluder to achieve both low insertion resistance and broad applicability
Solution Approach 2:
The patent designs the braided mesh to be dynamically configurable, where the cross-sectional area changes based on the compression state. During insertion, the mesh compresses to a smaller area for easy sheath passage, then expands to its full application range once deployed. This dynamic property resolves the contradiction between insertion ease and application versatility
3Ease of operation
If the first-stage braided mesh has a smaller cross-sectional area when compressed, then the occluder can be inserted into smaller sheaths with lower resistance, but the manufacturing complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the braided mesh into multiple stages with progressively increasing cross-sectional areas. The first stage uses fewer wires arranged in a compact configuration for small cross-sectional area during compression, while subsequent stages add more wires to increase the expanded area. This segmented approach achieves the desired size variation through systematic wire arrangement rather than complex 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 solution reduces long-term metal exposure and corrosion, facilitates epithelialization, lowers resistance during sheath insertion, and enhances safety by accommodating smaller sheaths, making the occluder more suitable for younger patients with smaller blood vessels.
Implementation Method 1
an elastic braided body provided between said distal end and proximal end and made of wires; said elastic braided body comprises a multistage braided mesh
Data Source
AI summary
An occlusion device comprises a distal end, a proximal end and an elastic braided body which is provided between the proximal end and the distal end and made of wires. The elastic braided body is composed of a multi-stage braided net, which comprises at least a first-stage braided net that is closest to the distal end and made of a plurality of first-stage wires, and a second-stage braided net which is braided by a plurality of first-stage wires and second-stage wires all together. The minimum cross-section area of the first-stage braided net after being compressed toward the direction perpendicular to an axis of the elastic braided body is less than the minimum cross-section area of any other-stage braided net after being compressed toward the axis. A method for manufacturing the occlusion device is also provided.