Nested Slide Guide Catheter for Tortuous Artery Navigation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing guide catheters are too stiff and have a large diameter, making them difficult to navigate through the tortuous bends of cerebral and coronary arteries, limiting the effectiveness of mechanical thrombectomy procedures for ischemic strokes.
Innovation Solution
A dual-catheter system with a first catheter having a larger diameter and a second catheter that is partially housed within the first, allowing the second catheter to be advanced or retracted relative to the first, facilitated by a wire, to navigate complex arterial configurations.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Strength
If a guide catheter is made stiff and large in diameter to provide structural support, then it can maintain stability and support during the procedure, but it cannot navigate through the tortuous bends of cerebral and coronary arteries
Solution Approach 1:
The catheter is divided into multiple segments or sections with different stiffness characteristics. The proximal portion has higher stiffness for stability during manipulation, while the distal portion has lower stiffness for navigating tortuous vessels. This segmentation allows the catheter to provide structural support where needed while remaining flexible for navigation.
Solution Approach 2:
Different portions of the catheter are assigned different mechanical properties. The proximal section is designed with higher stiffness to provide support during procedure, while the distal section is designed with lower stiffness to navigate tortuous arterial bends. This local differentiation of quality resolves the contradiction between needing strength and needing flexibility.
2Reliability
If a guide catheter is made large in diameter to provide adequate support and access, then it can deliver devices effectively, but it cannot pass through the bends in middle cerebral artery and coronary arteries
Solution Approach 1:
The catheter structure is segmented into proximal and distal portions with different diameters and stiffness characteristics. The proximal portion maintains adequate diameter for reliable device delivery, while the distal portion reduces diameter and increases flexibility to navigate arterial bends successfully.
Solution Approach 2:
The catheter exhibits local quality variations where the proximal section has larger diameter for device delivery and the distal section has smaller diameter for navigation. This localized differentiation allows the catheter to fulfill both requirements of reliable device delivery and ease of passage through tortuous vessels.
3Stability of the object's composition
If a guide catheter is made stiff to maintain position during the procedure, then it provides stable access, but it causes increased risk of vascular trauma when navigating arteries
Solution Approach 1:
The catheter is segmented into proximal and distal portions with different stiffness characteristics. The proximal portion maintains stiffness for position stability during the procedure, while the distal portion is designed with lower stiffness to reduce vascular trauma risk during navigation through tortuous vessels.
Solution Approach 2:
Different sections of the catheter have different mechanical properties: the proximal section has higher stiffness to maintain position stability, while the distal section has lower stiffness to minimize vascular trauma. This local quality differentiation resolves the contradiction between stability and harm reduction.
Data Source
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AI summary
The present disclosure provides a catheter system and methods for use that includes (a) a first catheter having a first end and a second end, where the first catheter has a first diameter, (b) a second catheter having a first end and a second end, where the second catheter has a second diameter that is less than the first diameter of the first catheter, and where the second catheter is positioned at least partially within a lumen of the first catheter and is moveable relative to the first catheter, and (c) a wire having a first end and a second end, where the first end of the wire is coupled to the second catheter.