Rotating Clot Removal Device for Intracerebral Hemorrhage
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current treatments for intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH) are limited in effectiveness, with high morbidity and mortality rates, and existing devices for removing blood clots are inefficient in disrupting and evacuating fragmented material, often leading to blockages and prolonged procedure times.
Innovation Solution
A method and device involving an elongate blood clot removal device with a rotating member that breaks up clots and facilitates aspiration, using a combination of rotation and suction to remove clots from the cranium, potentially aided by pharmacologic agents and image-guided navigation systems.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If a catheter alone is used to drain intraventricular blood, then the procedure is minimally invasive, but catheter patency is lost and blood removal is slow
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines multiple functions into a single device: a catheter for minimally invasive access, an impeller for active blood disruption, and an aspiration system for rapid removal. This merging resolves the contradiction by maintaining minimal invasiveness while dramatically increasing blood removal efficiency through the integrated impeller-aspiration system.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent employs hydraulic principles through the aspiration system that uses pressure differentials to drive blood flow through the catheter. The impeller creates centrifugal force to disrupt clot material, while the aspiration lumen uses negative pressure to evacuate fragmented blood products, resolving the slow removal issue without sacrificing minimally invasive access.
2Productivity
If traditional surgical techniques are used to remove blood clots, then complete removal is achieved, but tissue damage increases and procedure complexity rises
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the clot material from the brain ventricles through a narrow catheter pathway, avoiding the need for large surgical openings. The impeller breaks up the clot into smaller fragments that can be suctioned through the catheter, achieving complete removal while keeping the access site minimal and protecting surrounding brain tissue from surgical trauma.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces traditional mechanical surgical evacuation (craniotomy and manual removal) with a powered impeller system that uses rotational centrifugal force to fragment and remove clots. This substitution reduces direct mechanical contact with brain tissue, minimizing damage while maintaining effective clot removal.
3Adaptability or versatility
If thrombolytic agents are used alone for ICH treatment, then clot dissolution is attempted, but the procedure takes too long and catheter patency is not maintained
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements continuous active removal through the impeller-aspiration system, preventing catheter occlusion by constantly evacuating blood products. This continuous action maintains catheter patency throughout the procedure, eliminating the need for repeated flushing or intervention, and significantly reduces total procedure time compared to intermittent thrombolytic-only approaches.
Solution Approach 2:
The impeller performs preliminary mechanical fragmentation of clots before aspiration removes the debris. This preliminary mechanical action prepares the clot material for efficient suction, preventing catheter blockage and maintaining patency throughout the procedure, thereby reducing overall treatment time compared to waiting for chemical dissolution alone.
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 enables faster and more efficient removal of blood clots, reducing procedure time and improving patient outcomes by effectively disrupting and evacuating clots, even in difficult-to-access areas, while minimizing tissue damage.
Implementation Method 1
rotating a rotating member of the clot removal device at or near the distal end of the clot removal device to at least partially break up the clot
Implementation Method 2
removing the at least partially broken up clot from the cranium through the clot removal device
Data Source
AI summary
A device for removing obstructive material from a patient may include an elongate rotational member having a distal end and a proximal end, an internal irrigation catheter at least partially surrounding the rotational member, and an aspiration catheter at least partially surrounding the rotational member and the irrigation catheter. The distal portion of the rotational member is configured to change compliance of the obstructive material and facilitate obstructive material aspiration outside the patient.