Selective Stent Crimping for Bifurcation Treatment
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional stent technologies face challenges in effectively treating bifurcated vessels due to limitations in design, which lead to issues like in-stent restenosis, plaque shifting, and difficulty in accessing daughter vessels, and current drug delivery methods are inefficient in providing constant, localized treatment.
Innovation Solution
The development of a stent delivery system that includes a method for non-uniform crimping of stents onto expandable members of catheters, allowing for secure placement and deployment in both mother and daughter vessels, with the option of therapeutic agent coating to inhibit restenosis, and a dual-catheter system for independent expansion and positioning.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a regular stent is designed with minimized cell structure size to promote coverage and support vessel wall, then tissue prolapse is prevented, but access to daughter vessels is obstructed causing stent jailing
Solution Approach 1:
The stent is divided into different cell structure zones: a first portion with minimized cell size for vessel wall support in the mother vessel, and a second portion with maximized cell size for facilitating daughter vessel access. This segmentation allows each zone to fulfill its specific function without compromising the other.
Solution Approach 2:
Different portions of the stent are designed with different cell structure characteristics tailored to local requirements. The first portion (distal to side hole) has minimized cells for coverage, while the second portion (proximal to side hole) has maximized cells for access, creating local quality variations that resolve the contradiction.
2Ease of operation
If a regular stent is designed with maximized cell size to promote access and prevent stent jailing, then daughter vessel accessibility is improved, but coverage and vessel wall support are reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The stent structure is segmented into functional zones where the first portion provides coverage with minimized cells and the second portion provides access with maximized cells, allowing both requirements to be satisfied in different locations.
Solution Approach 2:
The stent exhibits local quality variations with different cell sizes in different portions, optimizing each region for its specific function: coverage in the mother vessel and access to daughter vessels.
3Device complexity
If conventional stent designs are used in bifurcated vessels, then deployment is simplified, but in-stent restenosis and plaque shifting occur
Solution Approach 1:
The stent is segmented into different cell structure portions with distinct functions, allowing effective treatment of bifurcated vessels while maintaining a relatively simple overall design that integrates seamlessly into existing deployment systems.
Data Source
AI summary
Methods for crimping a stent on an expandable member of a delivery catheter, and devices and methods for treating a bifurcation are disclosed. A method for crimping includes positioning a stent having a first portion and a second portion over the expandable member, and non-uniformly crimping the stent to the expandable member. The method can include routing an elongate shaft under the second portion of the stent and through the side hole so as to be routed external to the first portion. The stent second portion can be crimped so that the elongate shaft can be slidably disposed relative to the stent second portion prior to deployment of the stent.