External Steerable Fiber for Endoluminal Expandable Device Deployment
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current endoluminal delivery systems for expandable devices in vascular treatments face challenges in precise positioning and deployment within the vasculature due to limited control over the device's expansion and navigation through tortuous vessel paths.
Innovation Solution
A catheter assembly with flexible sleeves and steering lines that constrain and manipulate expandable implants, allowing for selective axial and rotational positioning before full deployment, enabling controlled expansion and navigation through the vasculature.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If conventional delivery catheters are used for endoluminal deployment, then the procedure is minimally invasive, but precise positioning and control of device expansion are limited
Solution Approach 1:
The delivery catheter is divided into multiple functional segments: a flexible catheter shaft for navigation, expandable balloons for staged deployment, and a delivery sheath for constrained transport. This segmentation allows each component to perform its specific function optimally while maintaining overall system controllability.
Solution Approach 2:
Expandable balloons are introduced as intermediary elements between the delivery system and the implantable device. These balloons provide controlled expansion force and allow staged deployment, enabling precise positioning before full device expansion while maintaining minimal invasiveness.
2Reliability
If expandable devices are deployed to treat vascular conditions, then therapeutic outcomes are improved, but control over navigation through tortuous vessel paths is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The delivery catheter incorporates dynamically adjustable features including expandable balloons that can be inflated at different stages and locations, and a flexible shaft that can adapt to vessel curvature. This dynamic design allows the system to navigate tortuous paths while maintaining control over device deployment.
Solution Approach 2:
The catheter shaft is constructed with flexible materials and thin-walled components that can conform to the natural curvature of blood vessels. This flexibility enables navigation through tortuous vessel paths while the overall catheter structure maintains sufficient rigidity for controlled device deployment.
3Reliability
If full expansion of the device is achieved immediately, then therapeutic function is maximized, but tissue damage and procedural risk increase
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary actions by first positioning the device at the target location using the flexible catheter and delivery sheath, then using expandable balloons to initiate controlled expansion. This preliminary positioning and staged expansion approach ensures the device is correctly placed before full deployment, reducing the risk of tissue damage while maintaining therapeutic effectiveness.
Solution Approach 2:
Device expansion is performed in periodic stages using multiple expandable balloons that can be inflated sequentially or simultaneously at different rates. This periodic expansion allows gradual tissue adaptation and enables the operator to pause and assess positioning at each stage, minimizing the risk of sudden tissue damage while achieving full therapeutic function.
Data Source
AI summary
The present disclosure describes treatment of the vasculature of a patient with an expandable implant. The implant is constrained to a reduced delivery diameter for delivery within the vasculature by at least one sleeve. The implant can be constrained to other diameters, such as an intermediate diameter. The sleeves can be expanded, allowing for expansion of the diameter of the expandable implant, by disengaging a coupling member from the sleeve or sleeves from outside of the body of the patient. The expandable implant can comprise a steering line or lines which facilitate bending and steering of the expandable implant through the vasculature of a patient.