Steerable Locking Catheter for Tortuous Vessel Anchoring
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Solution Overview
Problem
Catheters face challenges in tracking through tortuous anatomy and maintaining position during delivery of interventional devices, often backing out of position, especially for larger diameter catheters.
Innovation Solution
A steerable locking catheter system with a torqueable shaft and flexible distal end, featuring differential flexibility in two directions, allowing controlled navigation and anchoring within vasculature by locking into curves.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If the catheter is made more flexible to navigate tortuous vasculature, then tracking capability is improved, but the catheter loses positional stability and backs out during device delivery
Solution Approach 1:
The catheter shaft is divided into multiple segments with different flexibility characteristics. The distal portion contains hinge structures with slots that enable bending in specific directions, while proximal portions maintain greater stiffness. This segmentation allows the catheter to navigate tortuous anatomy through the flexible distal segments while the stiffer proximal segments provide anchoring stability during device delivery.
Solution Approach 2:
Different portions of the catheter shaft are赋予 different mechanical properties. The distal end features hinge structures with slots oriented to provide flexibility in one direction while maintaining stiffness in the orthogonal direction. This local differentiation enables the catheter to conform to vessel curvature where needed while maintaining positional stability in the delivery zone.
2Adaptability or versatility
If the catheter diameter is increased to deliver larger interventional devices, then device delivery capability is improved, but tracking through tortuous anatomy becomes more difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The catheter is segmented into a stiffer proximal portion for device delivery and a more flexible distal portion with hinge structures for navigation. This allows the larger diameter catheter to maintain trackability by concentrating flexibility in the distal segments while the proximal segments provide the structural support needed for delivering bulky interventional devices.
Solution Approach 2:
The catheter incorporates dynamic hinge structures with slots that allow controlled bending. These hinges enable the catheter to dynamically adapt its shape to navigate tortuous anatomy while maintaining overall structural integrity for device delivery, resolving the contradiction between size and trackability.
3Reliability
If the catheter is made stiffer to prevent backing out, then positional stability is improved, but the ability to navigate tortuous vasculature is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The catheter shaft is segmented into proximal and distal portions with different stiffness characteristics. The proximal portion maintains higher stiffness to prevent backing out and provide anchoring, while the distal portion incorporates hinge structures with slots that enable flexible navigation through tortuous vasculature.
Solution Approach 2:
The catheter exhibits local quality variations along its length, with the distal end featuring directional flexibility through hinge structures and the proximal end maintaining uniform stiffness. This local differentiation allows the catheter to simultaneously achieve navigation flexibility and positional stability in different zones.
Data Source
Figure 1A
Figure 1B~1E
Figure 2A~2B
AI summary
The steerable catheter (100) facilitates the tracking and selection of branch vessels, as well as provide the means for stiffening the catheter body across the tortuosity to anchor the catheter and minimize the potential for the catheter backing out of position while delivering interventional devices to the distal anatomy, by using special shaped notches (600)