Planar Hub Occlusion Device for Left Atrial Appendage
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing LAA occlusion devices often protrude into the left atrial chamber, disturbing blood flow and increasing the risk of thrombus formation due to their design, which can lead to embolic stroke and other complications.
Innovation Solution
A medical device with a frame comprising elongate members and a hub component that can assume a collapsed and enlarged configuration, where the proximal-facing portion forms a planar face, minimizing protrusion into the left atrial chamber, and the distal portions form a support member to prevent thrombus formation and ensure secure occlusion.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If the occlusion device uses an elongate eyelet at each end to terminate the structure, then the device can be structurally simplified and manufactured more easily, but the eyelet protrudes into the left atrial chamber and disturbs blood flow, increasing thrombus formation risk
Solution Approach 1:
The harmful protruding eyelet structure is extracted and removed from the design. Instead of terminating with elongate eyelets that protrude into the left atrial chamber, the device now terminates with a hub component where the occlusion members are contained within or flush with the hub surface, eliminating the protrusion that causes blood flow disturbance and thrombus formation.
Solution Approach 2:
Instead of having the occlusion members terminate externally with protruding eyelets, the design inverts the termination approach by containing the occlusion members within a hub structure where they are recessed or flush with the outer surface. This reverses the traditional termination concept and eliminates the harmful protrusion into the blood flow path.
2Object-affected harmful factors
If the occlusion members are contained within a hub component forming a planar face, then blood flow disturbance is minimized and thrombus formation risk is reduced, but the device structure becomes more complex with multiple components
Solution Approach 1:
Multiple occlusion members are merged into a single hub component structure. The hub serves as a common termination point for all occlusion members, consolidating what would otherwise be separate elongate eyelet structures into one integrated component. This merging reduces the number of discrete parts while maintaining the beneficial planar face configuration.
Solution Approach 2:
The hub component serves multiple functions simultaneously: it terminates all occlusion members, provides a planar outer surface that minimizes blood flow disturbance, and acts as a structural support element. This multi-functionality consolidates several roles into one component, reducing overall device complexity despite the sophisticated geometry required.
3Adaptability or versatility
If the attachment members are pivotally attached to the hub to allow movement, then the device can better conform to anatomical structures and improve occlusion effectiveness, but the joint assembly becomes more complex with moving parts
Solution Approach 1:
The attachment members transition from fixed to movable connections with the hub through pivotal joints. This dynamic capability allows the occlusion members to rotate and adjust their orientation in response to anatomical variations and blood flow forces, improving conformability and occlusion effectiveness while maintaining a relatively simple joint assembly design.
Data Source
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AI summary
A device (100) for occluding an aperture in a body of a patient includes a frame (110) that includes a plurality of elongate members (111) and a hub component (102) that includes a plurality of attachment members (150), wherein for each elongate member of the plurality of elongate members a first end of the elongate member is fixedly attached to an attachment member of the plurality of attachment members at an attachment region. The frame and the hub component together form at least one occlusive element. Each receptacle of the plurality of attachment members is configured to pivot with respect to the hub component, such that each attachment region is movable with respect to the hub component.