Pre-loaded Inverting Tractor Thrombectomy Apparatus
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current mechanical thrombectomy devices face challenges in effectively and safely removing blood clots from within the body, particularly in navigating tortious vessels and preventing premature deployment of the thrombectomy apparatus.
Innovation Solution
The development of a mechanical thrombectomy apparatus featuring a distal inverting tube, or tractor, made of highly flexible material that inverts over a distal opening, such as the end of a catheter, allowing for a conveyor-like motion to capture and remove clots. This apparatus includes a tractor hold mechanism to prevent premature deployment and ensure accurate tracking within the body.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If the tractor is made highly flexible to navigate tortious vessels, then adaptability is improved, but the tractor may deploy prematurely during navigation
Solution Approach 1:
The tractor is pre-loaded in a compressed state within the catheter before deployment. The loading mechanism pre-compresses the tractor to a small diameter, enabling it to navigate tortious vessels without deploying prematurely. This preliminary action of compression resolves the contradiction by maintaining flexibility for navigation while preventing premature deployment through controlled pre-loading.
Solution Approach 2:
The tractor transitions dynamically between a compressed low-profile state during navigation and an expanded operational state during thrombectomy. The loading mechanism enables this dynamic transformation, allowing the tractor to adapt to tortious vessels in compressed form while maintaining reliability during navigation. The dynamic state change resolves the contradiction between flexibility and premature deployment prevention.
2Ease of operation
If force is applied to deploy the tractor, then deployment capability is improved, but the apparatus may kink or collapse
Solution Approach 1:
The loading mechanism pre-compresses the tractor within the catheter before deployment, preparing it for controlled expansion. This preliminary compression allows the tractor to be deployed with manageable force, improving ease of operation while preventing excessive force that could cause kinking or collapse. The pre-loading action balances deployment capability with apparatus integrity.
3Reliability
If the tractor is held in a compressed state during navigation, then premature deployment is prevented, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The tractor is nested within the catheter in a compressed state, with the loading mechanism integrated into the catheter structure. This nesting arrangement prevents premature deployment while minimizing device complexity by utilizing the existing catheter space and structure. The tractor serves as a nested component within the larger catheter assembly, reducing the need for separate complex retention mechanisms.
4Productivity
If the tractor is made loose and flexible for clot capture, then thrombectomy effectiveness is improved, but tracking accuracy deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The tractor is pre-compressed to a small diameter within the catheter before deployment, enabling it to be pulled through tortious vessels with precision. This preliminary compression maintains tracking accuracy during navigation. Once deployed, the tractor expands to its operational diameter for effective clot capture, resolving the contradiction between tracking precision and thrombectomy effectiveness through staged dimensional changes.
Data Source
Figure 1A~1D
Figure 1E~1H
Figure 1I~2A
AI summary
Mechanical thrombectomy apparatuses including an inverting, rolling conveyor region ("tractor") at the distal end that are configured to grab and remove thrombus material. In particular, described herein are mechanical thrombectomy apparatuses that are adapted to prevent premature deployment of the tractor, e.g., by including a tractor hold (e.g., a housing, a lock, a clamp, etc.) or the like to secure the outer end of the tractor against and/or relative to the elongate inversion support.