Shunt Implant Device With Offset Sensor Arms
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current medical technologies face challenges in accurately monitoring cardiac pressure, particularly in the left atrium, which is crucial for early detection and prevention of congestive heart failure, as existing methods are invasive, unreliable, or insufficiently correlated with left atrial pressure.
Innovation Solution
A sensor implant device with a shunt body and sensor-retention structures that hold pressure sensors outside the fluid conduit channel, allowing for direct monitoring of cardiac pressures without obstructing fluid flow, using a coil wireform that can be deployed and compressed for implantation, and integrated with wireless communication for real-time data transmission.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If a sensor is placed inside the fluid conduit channel to monitor pressure, then pressure monitoring is enabled, but fluid flow is obstructed
Solution Approach 1:
The sensor is repositioned from a one-dimensional placement inside the channel to a two-dimensional arrangement at the channel boundary. The sensor sits in a recess or cavity at the periphery of the fluid conduit, allowing it to contact the fluid and measure pressure while maintaining clear flow paths through the channel, thus eliminating the obstruction problem while preserving measurement capability
2Measurement precision
If a sensor is placed radially inside the channel area, then pressure sensing is achieved, but the sensor is exposed to high fluid flow forces causing displacement
Solution Approach 1:
A retention structure acts as an intermediary mechanical element between the sensor and the fluid conduit. This retention structure includes features like recesses, cavities, or retaining rings that physically secure the sensor in place, allowing the sensor to remain stable and focused on pressure measurement while being protected from direct exposure to high fluid flow forces
Solution Approach 2:
The sensor placement is optimized at specific locations where fluid flow is minimal but pressure is still measurable. By positioning the sensor at the periphery or in recesses of the channel rather than in the center of high-flow areas, the sensor maintains measurement capability while experiencing reduced fluid flow forces, improving both stability and measurement accuracy
3Measurement precision
If the sensor is positioned to accurately measure left atrial pressure, then diagnostic accuracy improves, but the measurement becomes more invasive
Solution Approach 1:
The shunt device serves as an intermediary structure that enables non-invasive pressure measurement. By positioning the sensor within the shunt body at strategic locations where it can indirectly sense left atrial pressure through fluid transmission, the system achieves accurate measurement without requiring direct invasive access to the left atrium, thereby reducing procedural risk while maintaining diagnostic accuracy
Data Source
AI summary
A sensor implant device includes a shunt body that forms a fluid conduit, a first anchor structure associated with a first axial end of the shunt body, and a first sensor-retention structure associated with a second axial end of the shunt body, the first sensor-retention structure being configured to hold a first sensor device in a sensing position in which a sensor transducer of the first sensor device is disposed at least partially radially outside of a channel area of the fluid conduit.