Segmented Catheter System Navigating Tortuous Ophthalmic Artery
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Current medical procedures face challenges in accessing and treating the ophthalmic artery due to its tortuous path and small diameter, making it difficult to deliver devices or substances effectively, especially given the significant size difference and angle from the internal carotid artery.
Innovation Solution
A system comprising a guide catheter and an intermediate catheter connected at a joint, allowing for adjustable bending and trajectory adjustment to navigate the ophthalmic artery, with features like expandable members and aspiration to facilitate device delivery and blood flow management.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If conventional catheters are used to access the ophthalmic artery, then the procedure is simple, but the catheter cannot navigate the tortuous path and small diameter of the ophthalmic artery
Solution Approach 1:
The catheter system is divided into multiple segments: a guide catheter positioned in the internal carotid artery, and a separate intermediate catheter that can be advanced through the guide catheter into the ophthalmic artery. This segmentation allows each catheter to be optimized for its specific function and anatomical location, enabling navigation of the tortuous ophthalmic artery path while maintaining overall procedural simplicity
Solution Approach 2:
The guide catheter acts as an intermediary device that facilitates the delivery of the intermediate catheter to the target location. By first positioning the guide catheter in the internal carotid artery, the system creates a stable platform from which the intermediate catheter can be advanced through the tortuous ophthalmic artery, solving the navigation problem while maintaining procedural ease
2Stability of the object's composition
If a rigid catheter is used to maintain structural integrity, then the catheter is stable, but it cannot follow the tortuous path to the ophthalmic artery
Solution Approach 1:
The intermediate catheter incorporates a dynamic design with a bendable section that can be actively adjusted during the procedure. The catheter includes a proximal straight section for stability and a distal bendable section that can be shaped to follow the tortuous ophthalmic artery path. This dynamic configuration allows the catheter to transition from a stable, straight structure to an adaptable, curved structure as needed
Solution Approach 2:
The catheter's physical parameters are changed along its length to balance stability and adaptability. The proximal portion maintains rigid parameters for structural integrity and stable positioning in the internal carotid artery, while the distal portion transitions to flexible parameters that allow the catheter to conform to the tortuous ophthalmic artery path. This gradual parameter change enables both stability and adaptability
3Adaptability or versatility
If the catheter is made highly flexible to navigate the tortuous path, then the catheter can reach the ophthalmic artery, but it lacks the stability needed for precise device delivery
Solution Approach 1:
The catheter is segmented into proximal and distal portions with different flexibility characteristics. The proximal portion provides structural stability for precise device delivery, while the distal portion provides flexibility for navigating the tortuous ophthalmic artery path. This segmentation resolves the contradiction by assigning different functional requirements to different segments of the same device
Solution Approach 2:
Different portions of the catheter are given different local qualities: the proximal portion has high structural stability for precise control during device delivery, while the distal portion has high flexibility for navigating the tortuous path. This local differentiation of properties allows the catheter to simultaneously achieve both stability and adaptability in the regions where they are most needed
4Ease of manufacture
If standard angioplasty procedures are used on the ophthalmic artery, then the treatment approach is familiar, but the procedure is impractical or impossible due to the artery's small size and tortuous path
Solution Approach 1:
The guide catheter serves as an intermediary that enables the application of familiar angioplasty techniques to the difficult-to-access ophthalmic artery. By first establishing access through the guide catheter in the internal carotid artery, the system creates a platform from which standard angioplasty devices can be delivered through the intermediate catheter to treat the ophthalmic artery, making the familiar procedure feasible in this challenging anatomy
Solution Approach 2:
The intermediate catheter is nested within the guide catheter, creating a nested doll configuration. This nesting allows the intermediate catheter to be delivered through the guide catheter to the target location, then deployed to perform the angioplasty procedure. The nested structure enables the use of standard procedures by providing a delivery mechanism that overcomes the anatomical challenges of the ophthalmic artery
Data Source
AI summary
A method may include delivering a first catheter to a location within an arterial vasculature of a subject. The location may include at least one of an internal carotid artery of the subject or a junction between an ophthalmic artery of the subject and the internal carotid artery of the subject. The method also may include moving a second catheter relative to the first catheter so as to reorient a direction of a distal opening of the second catheter, the second catheter being connected to the first catheter at a joint.