Rotatable Catheter Shafts for Renal Nerve Ablation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current medical devices for renal nerve ablation lack effective methods for delivering targeted energy to renal arteries while minimizing damage to neighboring nerves or tissues, and there is a need for alternative devices and manufacturing techniques that allow for precise control and directional energy application.
Innovation Solution
A medical device comprising a catheter shaft with an expandable balloon and active electrodes, where the inner and outer shafts are rotatable to facilitate energy delivery and balloon deflation, enabling precise renal nerve ablation treatment without piercing luminal tissue, and a system for controlling energy dosage to target nerve tissue effectively.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If an expandable balloon with active electrodes is used for renal nerve ablation, then precise energy delivery to renal arteries is achieved, but device complexity increases due to the need for rotatable shafts and expandable mechanisms
Solution Approach 1:
The device employs nested shafts where an inner shaft is positioned within an outer shaft, both capable of rotation. The expandable balloon is coupled to both shafts, allowing it to be manipulated through the nested structure. This nesting approach enables precise control of the balloon's position and orientation while delivering energy to renal arteries, resolving the contradiction between precision and complexity by organizing complex components in a compact, integrated manner.
Solution Approach 2:
The device incorporates dynamic elements including rotatable inner and outer shafts that can rotate independently or together, and an expandable balloon that can transition between deflated and expanded states. This dynamic capability allows the device to adapt its configuration for precise energy delivery while maintaining controllability, addressing the contradiction by making the device flexible rather than rigid.
2Ease of operation
If torque is applied to rotatable shafts to facilitate balloon deflation, then ease of operation is improved, but force requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The application of torque to the rotatable shafts creates a twisting motion that facilitates balloon deflation through mechanical deformation. The curved or spiral configuration of the balloon or its coupling to the shafts allows rotational force to be converted into deflation action, reducing the linear force required and improving ease of operation while managing force requirements through mechanical advantage.
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 allows for precise and controlled renal nerve ablation, reducing unnecessary tissue damage and enabling effective treatment of excessive nerve activity, with the ability to assess treatment efficacy and adjust parameters for optimal results.
Implementation Method 1
an expandable balloon having a proximal region and a distal region, wherein the distal region of the first catheter shaft is coupled near the proximal region of the expandable balloon and the distal region of the second catheter shaft is coupled near the distal region of the expandable balloon
Implementation Method 2
one or more active electrode positioned on a surface of the expandable balloon, the active electrode capable of providing a renal nerve ablation treatment using energy received from the power source
Implementation Method 3
A torque applied to at least one of the first catheter shaft and the second catheter shaft may facilitate deflation of the expandable balloon
Data Source
AI summary
A medical device for renal denervation may include a catheter shaft including an outer shaft having a lumen formed therein and an inner shaft extending within the lumen of the outer shaft. The catheter may further include an expandable member having a proximal region coupled to a distal region of the outer shaft, and a distal region of the expandable member may be coupled to a distal region of the inner shaft. In some embodiments, one or more active electrodes may be disposed on an exterior surface of the expandable member and capable of providing the renal denervation treatment. In some embodiments, the inner shaft may be rotatable in relation to the outer shaft and/or the outer shaft may be rotatable in relation to the inner shaft.