Segmented Medical Catheter with Graded Flexural Rigidity
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing catheters face challenges in operability and kink prevention due to rigid materials, which hinder effective insertion and imaging within biological lumens.
Innovation Solution
A medical tube with gradually decreasing rigidity from the intermediate to the distal side, composed of specific resin layers and materials, including polyether ether ketone and polyolefin, integrated with adhesive agents to maintain flexibility and prevent kinks.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Strength
If a rigid material is used for the catheter main body, then the catheter can maintain its shape and structural integrity, but the operability and flexibility are reduced, making insertion difficult and causing kinks
Solution Approach 1:
The catheter main body is divided into multiple sections with different rigidity characteristics. The proximal portion has higher rigidity for structural support, while the distal portion has lower rigidity for flexibility and navigation, resolving the contradiction between maintaining shape and enabling easy insertion
Solution Approach 2:
Different portions of the catheter are assigned different material properties - the proximal portion uses higher rigidity material for structural integrity, while the distal portion uses lower rigidity material for flexibility, allowing each region to optimize its function locally
2Strength
If a rigid material is used for the catheter main body, then the catheter can maintain structural integrity, but kink prevention is compromised
Solution Approach 1:
The catheter is segmented into high-rigidity proximal portion and low-rigidity distal portion, allowing the proximal section to provide structural integrity while the distal section remains flexible enough to prevent kinking during insertion and navigation
Solution Approach 2:
The rigidity parameter is changed along the length of the catheter, with the proximal portion having higher rigidity for structural support and the distal portion having lower rigidity to maintain flexibility and prevent kinks, thus resolving the contradiction between structural integrity and kink prevention
Data Source
AI summary
A medical tube includes a first portion, a second portion, a third portion, and a fourth portion in this order from a proximal side to a distal side thereof. The first portion has a tubular resin layer, the second portion has a tubular inner layer and outer layer, the third portion as an inner layer and outer layer, and the fourth portion has a tubular resin layer. When flexural rigidity of the first portion, the second portion, the third portion, and the fourth portion is G1, G2, G3, and G4, respectively, the flexural rigidity of each portion being configured to have a relationship with each other portion based upon the following expression (1):G1>G2>G3>G4 (1).