Separate Cutting Catheter for Vessel Plaque Scoring

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Solution Overview

Problem

Current angioplasty methods, such as balloon dilatation and cutting balloon catheters, face challenges like traumatic dissections, restenosis, and the need for multiple catheters due to standardized sizes, along with complex handling and increased risks of bleeding and embolism, which complicate the treatment of vessels with varying diameters and make stent implantation necessary.

Innovation Solution

A medical kit comprising a cutting element and an insertion catheter that allows for separate insertion and use from a balloon catheter, enabling targeted cutting of the inner vessel wall and plaque deposits, reducing trauma and allowing for treatment of vessels with varying diameters without the need for expensive cutting balloon catheters, thereby simplifying handling and reducing costs.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Reliability

If cutting balloon catheters with standardized diameters are used, then cutting of arteriosclerotic deposits can be achieved, but multiple expensive catheters are required for vessels with different diameters

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvecutting effectivenessVSAvoidadaptability to different vessel diameters
Core Design Contradiction:
ReliabilityVSAdaptability or versatility

Solution Approach 1:

The cutting element is designed with a flexible structure that can adapt to different vessel diameters dynamically. The element can be compressed during insertion and then expands or maintains its cutting configuration once deployed, allowing a single device to handle multiple vessel sizes rather than requiring multiple standardized catheters.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #15Dynamics

Solution Approach 2:

The cutting balloon catheter is designed with adjustable or variable diameter capabilities, allowing a single catheter to function across multiple vessel size ranges. This multi-functional design eliminates the need for multiple specialized catheters while maintaining effective cutting performance across different anatomical variations.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #6Universality (Multi-functionality)

2Reliability

If cutting balloon catheters with standardized sizes are used, then cutting function is provided, but device complexity and handling difficulty increase

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvecutting functionVSAvoidhandling complexity
Core Design Contradiction:
ReliabilityVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The cutting catheter system is divided into modular components, with the cutting element as a separate replaceable or adjustable module. This segmentation allows the main catheter body to remain simple and standardized while the cutting function is provided by a specialized element that can be configured for different needs, reducing overall system complexity and improving handling.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #1Segmentation

3Productivity

If balloon angioplasty is performed, then vessel widening is achieved, but traumatic dissections and wall bleeding occur regularly

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvevessel opening efficiencyVSAvoidvessel wall trauma
Core Design Contradiction:
ProductivityVSObject-affected harmful factors

Solution Approach 1:

The cutting element is deployed before balloon inflation to pre-cut or score the arteriosclerotic deposits and vessel wall. This preliminary cutting action creates controlled incisions that allow subsequent balloon dilation to proceed with minimal trauma, as the cutting element has already separated the plaque from the vessel wall, preventing traumatic dissections during inflation.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #10Preliminary action

Solution Approach 2:

The cutting element intentionally creates controlled micro-traumas or incisions in the vessel wall and plaque, which then serve as beneficial entry points for drug delivery or facilitate smoother balloon expansion. The controlled cutting action converts potential harmful uncontrolled trauma into beneficial controlled access points that reduce overall vessel wall damage during the procedure.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #22Blessing in disguise (Convert harm into benefit)

Data Source

PatentEP3072463B1Medical kit or set for treating a diseased hollow organ
Publication Date: 2022.08.17 B BRAUN MELSUNGEN AG
  • EP3072463B1 patent drawingFigure 1~4

AI summary

The invention relates to a medical kit or set for use in the treatment of a pathologically altered hollow organ, comprising a cutting element designed for cutting an inner wall layer of the hollow organ and/or for cutting deposits on an inner surface of the hollow organ, and an insertion catheter designed for inserting the cutting element into the hollow organ, wherein the cutting element is not connected to a balloon outer surface of a balloon catheter in an insertion state.