Segmented Balloon Catheter for Wire Guide Stabilization
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing support catheters often bend, flex, or kink during angioplasty procedures when attempting to advance wire guides across occluded lesions, leading to difficulties in crossing narrow passages and increased radiation exposure, and may require more invasive procedures if unsuccessful.
Innovation Solution
A supportive balloon catheter system with an inflatable member and braided structure is advanced over the wire guide to provide additional support, preventing kinking and deflection, and allowing the wire guide to cross the lesion, which can then be followed by an angioplasty balloon to clear the passage.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a support catheter is used to brace the wire guide, then the wire guide is prevented from kinking, but the support catheter body bends, flexes, or kinks under force
Solution Approach 1:
The support catheter is divided into distinct functional segments: a rigid proximal section that prevents catheter body flexion, a transition zone, and a flexible distal section that contacts the lesion. This segmentation allows different parts of the catheter to have different mechanical properties, solving the contradiction between needing rigidity for support and flexibility for navigation.
Solution Approach 2:
Different sections of the support catheter are designed with locally optimized properties: the proximal section has higher rigidity to prevent bending under operator force, while the distal section has lower rigidity to allow conforming to vessel curvature and effective lesion contact. This local differentiation resolves the contradiction between overall structural stability and local adaptability.
2Stability of the object's composition
If the support catheter is made more rigid to prevent bending, then the catheter body stability improves, but the catheter cannot accommodate curvatures in the vasculature
Solution Approach 1:
The catheter is segmented into rigid and flexible zones, allowing the rigid proximal section to provide stability while the flexible distal section accommodates vascular curvatures. This segmentation enables the catheter to simultaneously achieve both stability and adaptability.
Solution Approach 2:
The catheter incorporates curved and flexible distal sections that can conform to the natural curvatures of the vasculature, while maintaining overall structural stability through the rigid proximal section. This design allows the catheter to navigate complex vascular geometries without compromising body stability.
3Adaptability or versatility
If the wire guide is made flexible to accommodate curvatures, then the wire guide can navigate vasculature, but the tip deflects away from the lesion
Solution Approach 1:
The support catheter acts as an intermediary that provides a rigid backbone for the flexible wire guide. The wire guide maintains its flexibility for navigation while the support catheter prevents tip deflection by bracing the wire guide within its lumen, ensuring accurate lesion engagement.
Solution Approach 2:
The system changes the effective rigidity parameter of the wire guide by confining it within the support catheter lumen. The wire guide remains flexible enough to navigate curvatures but gains sufficient radial support to maintain tip orientation toward the lesion, resolving the contradiction between flexibility and directional stability.
4Reliability
If multiple attempts are made to cross the lesion, then the wire guide may eventually succeed, but the procedure time increases and radiation exposure increases
Solution Approach 1:
The support catheter is positioned and inflated before attempting to cross the lesion, creating optimal conditions for successful wire guide advancement on the first attempt. This preliminary preparation reduces the need for multiple attempts, thereby reducing procedure time and radiation exposure.
Solution Approach 2:
The system provides visual feedback through radiopaque markers on the support catheter and wire guide, allowing real-time monitoring of their positions under fluoroscopy. This feedback enables precise manipulation and increases the likelihood of successful lesion crossing on the first attempt, reducing overall procedure time and radiation exposure.
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 balloon catheter system effectively stabilizes the wire guide, allowing successful crossing of lesions, reducing procedure time and minimizing radiation exposure, while enabling effective expansion of the intraluminal passage for improved blood flow.
Implementation Method 1
an inflatable member on the catheter is inflated through the inflation lumen. The inflated balloon catheter presses against the wall of the intraluminal passage
Data Source
AI summary
A supportive balloon catheter which may be used to assist a wire guide in advancing across a lesion which partially or totally occludes an intraluminal passage. The supportive balloon catheter is advanced over the wire guide, close to the location of the lesion. The supportive balloon catheter is then inflated, securing the position of the wire guide in the intraluminal passage. A braid on the catheter may provide additional structural support. The secured catheter restricts the movement of the wire guide advancing across the lesion, preventing kinking or deflection off the surface of the lesion. Once the wire guide has advanced across the lesion, the supportive balloon catheter or a different angioplasty may be used to clear the lesion from the intraluminal passage.