Self-Expandable Mesh for Rapid Cerebral Flow Restoration
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current methods for treating cerebral arteries occluded by thrombus are inefficient, often taking hours to restore blood flow and can lead to distal embolization or permanent neurological deficits.
Innovation Solution
A self-expandable apparatus is deployed radially adjacent to the thrombus, expanding to restore blood flow, dislodge, dissolve, or remove the thrombus, and optionally integrate with it for retrieval, using a mesh structure with a tapering portion to facilitate thrombus engagement and removal.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Speed
If current methods are used to treat cerebral arteries occluded by thrombus, then treatment can be performed with existing technology, but blood flow restoration takes hours and neurological deficits increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the thrombus from the blood vessel by positioning the apparatus radially adjacent to the occlusion and expanding it to engage and remove the thrombus, enabling rapid extraction that restores blood flow within minutes rather than hours
Solution Approach 2:
The apparatus is delivered in a compressed state through the vasculature to the site of occlusion before expansion, allowing preliminary positioning without disrupting the thrombus, followed by rapid expansion to immediately restore flow
2Productivity
If force is applied to dislodge thrombus, then thrombus removal efficiency increases, but distal embolization risk increases
Solution Approach 1:
The expandable apparatus serves as an intermediary structure that engages the thrombus from the radial direction, allowing controlled dislodgement and removal while preventing fragmentation and distal embolization through its mesh structure that contains thrombus particles
Solution Approach 2:
The patent applies force from a radial dimension rather than axial pull, expanding the apparatus radially adjacent to the thrombus to engage it from the side, which reduces the force required for dislodgement and minimizes the risk of distal embolization
3Speed
If thrombus is removed mechanically, then immediate flow restoration is achieved, but permanent neurological deficit risk remains
Solution Approach 1:
The apparatus maintains continuous engagement with the thrombus during expansion and removal, ensuring uninterrupted flow restoration and preventing re-occlusion, which improves neurological outcomes by maintaining perfusion continuously
Data Source
AI summary
Methods for restoring blood flow in occluded blood vessels using an apparatus having a self-expandable distal segment that is pre-formed to assume a superimposed structure in an unconstrained condition but can be made to take on a volume-reduced form making it possible to introduce it with a microcatheter and a push wire arranged at the proximal end, with the distal segment in its superimposed structure assuming the form of a longitudinally open tube and having a mesh structure of interconnected strings or filaments or struts. In a preferred embodiment, the distal segment has a tapering structure at its proximal end where the strings or filaments or struts converge at a connection point.