Rotating Cutting Head Catheter for Chronic Total Occlusion Debulking
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current catheter systems face challenges in effectively traversing and removing chronic total occlusions (CTOs) in arteries, leading to low success rates and increased morbidity and mortality, as they often require forcing devices through hardened plaque, which can cause further damage and are insufficient for substantial plaque debulking.
Innovation Solution
A novel rotating cutting head catheter with a protective sheath and helical grooves allows for precise control and extension of a cutting head with blades, enabling it to safely cut through and remove refractory materials like CTOs, while minimizing damage to surrounding artery walls.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If current catheter systems force devices through hardened plaque to traverse CTOs, then the catheter can reach the blocked region, but this causes further damage to the artery and has low success rates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces the conventional mechanical forcing approach with a controlled cutting mechanism. A rotating cutting head with blades mechanically divides and removes the hardened plaque through rotation and cutting action, rather than forcing the device through the obstruction. This substitution of mechanical forcing with mechanical cutting resolves the contradiction by achieving traversal through controlled material removal rather than forceful penetration.
2Productivity
If current catheter systems use balloon angioplasty to squeeze the blockage open, then the artery may be opened, but this is insufficient for substantial plaque debulking
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts and removes the plaque material from the artery through a cutting and removal mechanism. The rotating cutting head divides the plaque into smaller pieces that can be extracted and removed from the arterial lumen, rather than merely compressing the plaque as in balloon angioplasty. This extraction approach enables substantial plaque debulking while maintaining treatment reliability.
3Ease of operation
If a catheter tip has a very small surface area to navigate arteries, then it can move through vessels, but it can only treat a very small portion of the diseased artery
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies dynamics by making the cutting head rotatable and extendable. The cutting head can rotate to access different portions of the plaque and extend to increase the treatment surface area when needed. This dynamic design allows the catheter to maintain navigability with a small tip while providing extended treatment capability through rotational and extension movements of the cutting components.
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 catheter system significantly improves the ability to traverse and debulk CTOs, enhancing the success rate of treatments and reducing patient morbidity and mortality by allowing stents and other devices to access the damaged areas for more lasting repairs.
Implementation Method 1
A novel rotating cutting head catheter with a protective sheath and helical grooves allows for precise control and extension of a cutting head with blades, enabling it to safely cut through and remove refractory materials like CTOs
Data Source
AI summary
A rotating cutting head catheter for passage through chronic total occlusions or other refractory atherosclerotic plaque from diseased arteries is disclosed. The catheter's rotating cutting head is designed to reside safely within an outer protective sheath when not in use. The outer protective sheath contains one or more helical grooves or slots, and the cutting head contains protruding blades or projections that fit into these helical grooves or slots. Application of torque to an inner catheter or wire attached to the cutting head applies spin to the cutting head, and the force of the sheath's helical grooves or slots against the cutting head's protruding blades or projections advances the cutting head outward from the protective sheath. Once extended, the cutting head may now rotate freely. The device may use a guidewire to direct the cutting head to the desired position.