Shape-Memory Stent for Reusable Medical Training Models
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional training systems for stent grafting are costly due to the difficulty in reusing stent grafts, as they are typically expensive and hard to retrieve from three-dimensional models of biological organs once expanded.
Innovation Solution
A training device comprising a cylindrical stent made of shape-memory alloy, expandable at room temperature, which can be contracted and returned to its original shape when heated, allowing for easy retrieval and re-mounting on a balloon catheter, thereby reducing training costs.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the stent graft is expanded and placed in the affected area, then the training of stent grafting is completed, but the stent graft cannot be retrieved from the aorta model
Solution Approach 1:
The stent is made of shape-memory alloy that changes its physical state based on temperature. At room temperature, the stent maintains an expanded state for effective training placement. When heated to body temperature or higher, the stent automatically contracts to a smaller diameter, enabling easy retrieval from the aorta model through the catheter.
Solution Approach 2:
The stent transitions from a static expanded state during training to a dynamic contracted state upon heating. This dynamic transformation allows the stent to adapt its dimensions: expanded for realistic training placement and contracted for simple removal and reuse, resolving the contradiction between training effectiveness and retrievability.
2Reliability
If the stent is made expandable for realistic training, then the training realism is improved, but the cost of training increases due to inability to reuse
Solution Approach 1:
The shape-memory alloy stent uses temperature as a control parameter to switch between expanded and contracted states. The expanded state provides realistic training experience, while the contracted state upon heating enables easy retrieval and reuse, significantly reducing training costs by allowing multiple uses of the same stent.
Solution Approach 2:
Instead of discarding the expensive stent after single use, the invention enables recovery of the stent by heating it to contract. The contracted stent can be easily removed from the aorta model and reused for subsequent training sessions, transforming a single-use expensive component into a reusable training tool.
3Ease of operation
If the stent is contracted to fit through the catheter, then the ease of insertion is improved, but the training realism is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The stent dynamically changes its diameter based on temperature conditions. During insertion, the stent is heated to contract for easy passage through the catheter. Once positioned in the aorta model, the stent is allowed to cool and expand, providing realistic training experience. This dynamic behavior resolves the contradiction between ease of insertion and training realism.
Solution Approach 2:
The stent is pre-heated to a contracted state before insertion to facilitate easy passage through the catheter. After insertion and positioning in the aorta model, the temperature is reduced allowing the stent to expand to its training configuration. This preliminary action of contracting before insertion resolves the contradiction between ease of insertion and training realism.
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
Enables the repeated use of the training device by allowing it to be contracted and removed from the three-dimensional model, reducing the overall cost of training and facilitating its re-mounting on the balloon catheter.
Implementation Method 1
The training device 1 is a stent formed of a shape-memory alloy. The stent is expandable under a room temperature environment, and when heated to a predetermined temperature higher than room temperature, the stent is contracted to return to the original shape thereof
Data Source
Figure 1A~1B
Figure 2
Figure 3A~3C
AI summary
A training device to be inserted and placed inside a three-dimensional model of a biological organ manufactured for training, which is capable of reducing the cost of training in which the training device is inserted and placed inside the three-dimensional model, is provided. A stent is formed of a shape-memory alloy and is to be inserted and placed inside a three-dimensional model of a biological organ manufactured for training, under a state in which the stent is mounted on a balloon of a balloon catheter. The stent is expandable under a room temperature environment. When heated to a predetermined temperature higher than room temperature, the stent is contracted until an inner diameter of the stent becomes smaller than an outer diameter of the balloon in a contracted state, and returns to an original shape thereof.