Sensor Jacket Apertures for Intravascular Wetting
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing sensor and guide wire assemblies face issues with air entrapment within the jacket, which prevents complete wetting of the sensor element by the ambient fluid, affecting signal quality due to the combination of aperture dimensions and mounting arrangements.
Innovation Solution
A jacket with multiple openings is designed to ensure improved wetting by allowing entrapped air to escape and facilitating better fluid communication, thereby preventing air bubbles from forming over the sensor aperture.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a single aperture is used in the jacket for sensor element mounting, then the manufacturing process is simple, but air entrapment occurs preventing complete wetting of the sensor element
Solution Approach 1:
The single aperture in the jacket wall is segmented into multiple apertures (first aperture and second aperture). This segmentation allows multiple air escape paths to be created, enabling complete wetting of the sensor element while maintaining a relatively simple jacket structure. The segmentation directly resolves the contradiction by improving reliability through better fluid communication without significantly increasing device complexity.
2Manufacturing precision
If the aperture dimensions are small for precise sensor mounting, then the sensor element positioning is precise, but air entrapment is enhanced preventing fluid wetting
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of enlarging a single aperture which would compromise positioning precision, the solution segments the aperture into multiple smaller apertures. Each aperture maintains small dimensions for precise sensor element positioning, while the collective effect of multiple apertures provides sufficient fluid communication pathways to prevent air entrapment and ensure complete wetting.
Solution Approach 2:
The jacket wall is designed with different local qualities - specific regions contain multiple apertures for fluid communication, while other regions maintain structural integrity. The aperture distribution is optimized locally to balance positioning precision requirements with wetting completeness requirements, allowing the sensor element to be precisely positioned while ensuring reliable fluid access through strategically placed multiple apertures.
3Reliability
If air venting pathways are added to the jacket, then complete wetting of the sensor element is achieved, but the jacket structure becomes more complex
Solution Approach 1:
The air venting function is integrated into the jacket wall through segmented apertures rather than adding separate venting components. The first and second apertures serve dual purposes - structural integrity maintenance and air escape pathways. This segmentation approach achieves complete wetting while minimizing the increase in jacket structure complexity by using the existing jacket wall geometry.
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 solution achieves reliable and stable sensor output by ensuring complete wetting of the sensor element, enhancing the accuracy and reliability of intravascular measurements.
Implementation Method 1
a first opening arranged in said jacket wall... at least a second opening arranged in said jacket wall... ensure improved wetting by allowing entrapped air to escape and facilitating better fluid communication
Data Source
AI summary
A sensor guide wire for intravascular measurement of a physiological variable includes: a core wire extending at least partly along a length of the sensor guide wire; a sensor element in a sensor region of the sensor guide wire; a jacket having a jacket wall, the jacket being fixed relative to the core wire; and at least one lead connected to the sensor element. The jacket is tubular and includes a proximal end opening, a distal end opening, and a first set of openings extending through the jacket wall. The first set of openings extending through the jacket wall includes a first opening located above the sensor element, a second opening located at a first lateral side of the sensor element, and a third opening located at a second lateral side of the sensor element, and wherein the first, second, and third openings are elongated in a longitudinal direction of the jacket, and are aligned in a circumferential direction of the jacket.