Sequential Activation Handle for Medical Device Deployment
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing medical device deployment handles lack a mechanism to ensure a fixed sequence of activation steps, leading to practitioner errors during the deployment of medical devices like vascular prostheses and stent grafts, as they do not enforce the proper sequence of control line manipulations.
Innovation Solution
A handle with sequentially removable members that are attached to distally extending lines, forcing a specific sequence of activation steps by covering and exposing each member in a predetermined order, ensuring that each control line is activated in the correct sequence to deploy the medical device.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If multiple control lines are activated in any sequence using non-interlocked systems, then the operation is flexible and simple, but practitioner errors occur and the deployment sequence is not ensured
Solution Approach 1:
The handle is divided into multiple sequential chambers, each containing a specific control line activation mechanism. The chambers are arranged in a fixed sequence that forces the operator to activate control lines in the correct order, with each chamber becoming accessible only after the previous one is activated.
Solution Approach 2:
The handle design pre-establishes the activation sequence through its physical structure. Before operation begins, the chambers are configured in a predetermined sequence that guides the operator through the correct activation order, preventing errors before they can occur.
2Reliability
If training and visual aids are used to encourage proper delivery sequence, then the system remains simple, but inadvertent user errors still occur
Solution Approach 1:
The sequential chamber structure acts as an intermediary between the operator's intent and the actual control line activation. The physical design of the chambers mediates the interaction by allowing access to each control line only in the correct sequence, eliminating reliance on operator memory or training.
3Reliability
If a fixed sequence mechanism is implemented in the handle, then practitioner errors are eliminated, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
Multiple control line activation mechanisms are nested within sequential chambers, with each chamber containing the next. This nested structure allows the complex multi-control-line system to be organized in a compact, manageable format that enforces sequence while minimizing overall complexity.
Data Source
AI summary
A fixed sequence activation handle is described that forces a predetermined activation sequence. Such handles are suitable for use in the delivery of medical devices or for other application that require a fixed sequence of activations.