Retractor Device for Retrieval Device Reconfiguration
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current methods for removing obstructions from body lumens, such as clot material from blood vessels, face challenges like dislodging fragments that can cause further harm or become trapped in smaller vessels, and existing stent-based procedures risk trauma to the vessel walls and incomplete clot removal.
Innovation Solution
A retrieval device with an elongated shaft and a retrieval assembly featuring a flexible cover and capture structure that engages clot material, allowing for safe ensheathment and removal, along with a retractor device to transform the retrieval device for re-use, facilitating the transition between deployed and delivery positions.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If a stent is deployed into the clot to push it to the side of the vessel, then blood flow can be re-established, but the stent may not sufficiently retain the clot and the clot may remain within the vasculature
Solution Approach 1:
The retrieval device is divided into distinct functional segments: a capture structure for engaging the clot and a cover for encapsulation. This segmentation allows each component to perform its specific function optimally - the capture structure provides reliable clot engagement while the cover provides controlled release, addressing both retention reliability and removal effectiveness.
Solution Approach 2:
The cover acts as an intermediary element between the capture structure and the vasculature. It temporarily encapsulates the captured clot, protecting it from premature release while allowing controlled removal. This intermediary mechanism ensures reliable clot retention during the retrieval process while enabling effective removal when needed.
2Productivity
If the stent is withdrawn to remove the clot, then the clot can be retrieved, but the stent can become lodged on plaque on the vessel walls resulting in further vascular damage
Solution Approach 1:
The cover is constructed as a flexible element that can conform to the vessel wall geometry. This flexibility allows the cover to navigate tortuous anatomy and avoid impaction on plaque, reducing vascular trauma during withdrawal while maintaining effective clot encapsulation and retrieval capability.
Solution Approach 2:
The retrieval device incorporates dynamic elements including the flexible cover that can adapt its shape during withdrawal and the expandable capture structure that can adjust to different clot sizes. This dynamic design enables the device to respond to varying vascular conditions, reducing the risk of lodging on plaque while maintaining effective clot removal.
3Productivity
If an expanded stent is used to drag the clot through the vasculature, then the clot can be mobilized, but the stent can strip the cellular lining from the vessel causing hemorrhagic stroke
Solution Approach 1:
The flexible cover conform s to the vessel wall contour, allowing the device to navigate the vascular system without creating mechanical trauma to the vessel lining. This flexible encapsulation enables safe clot mobilization while preventing the stripping of cellular lining that would occur with rigid expanded stents.
Solution Approach 2:
The cover is designed as a disposable component that is discarded after use. This approach eliminates the need for retrieving the cover through the vasculature, thereby avoiding any potential trauma to the vessel lining from the cover retrieval process itself, while still providing effective clot encapsulation during the procedure.
4Reliability
If the retrieval device is used once and then discarded, then there is no risk of re-use related complications, but the procedure time increases and resource consumption increases
Solution Approach 1:
The retrieval device incorporates dynamic reconfiguration capabilities through the expandable capture structure and flexible cover that can be transformed between deployed and delivery positions. This dynamic design enables the device to be reused multiple times by simply reversing the deployment sequence, eliminating the need for disposal while maintaining procedure safety and reducing overall procedure time.
Solution Approach 2:
Instead of discarding the retrieval device after single use, the design enables recovery and re-use of the same device. The cover can be collapsed and the capture structure deflated, allowing the device to be retrieved and stored for subsequent procedures, thereby reducing resource consumption and procedure time while maintaining safety standards.
Data Source
Figure 1A~1B
Figure 2A~2C
Figure 2D~2F
AI summary
Devices and methods for transforming a covered retrieval device from a deployed position to a delivery position for re-use are disclose herein. A retractor device may include, for example, a tubular structure defining a channel and configured to slidably receive a retrieval device. A method for transforming a retrieval device may include, for example, (a) positioning a retrieval device in a deployed position within a channel of a retractor device, (b) securing a part of the cover against a surface of the retractor, and (c) while securing the cover, advancing the retrieval device distally through the tubular structure to expose a capture structure of the retrieval device.