Intravascular Stent Antenna Layout for Reliable Wire Fastening
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current treatments for heart failure and hypertension, particularly those involving stent-based electrodes, face challenges in effectively delivering electrical stimulation to blood vessels while maintaining efficient energy transfer and minimizing interference between antennas and electrodes.
Innovation Solution
A stent-based system with a cylindrical stent body, multiple struts, and widened flat surfaces for secure wire fastening, along with a dual-antenna configuration for inductive coupling, allows for efficient transmission of electrical energy between a control unit and electrodes within the blood vessel, reducing interference and enhancing energy transfer.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If wires are fastened directly to narrow stent struts, then the device complexity is reduced, but the reliability of electrical energy transmission deteriorates due to insufficient fastening surface area
Solution Approach 1:
The stent struts are designed with non-uniform cross-sectional areas: wider sections provide sufficient fastening surface area for securing wires (antenna and electrode wires), while narrower sections maintain flexibility and reduce overall device complexity. This local variation in strut geometry allows reliable wire attachment without making the entire stent structure complex.
Solution Approach 2:
The wire fastening mechanism transitions from a point-contact or edge-contact approach to a surface-contact approach by creating widened flat sections on the struts. This dimensional change from 0D/1D contact to 2D surface contact significantly improves fastening reliability and electrical connection stability without adding external components.
2Object-affected harmful factors
If antenna and electrode wires are fastened separately to different struts, then interference between antenna and electrode is minimized, but the device complexity increases due to additional fastening locations
Solution Approach 1:
Different struts are designed with different cross-sectional characteristics optimized for their specific wire type: some struts have wider sections suitable for antenna wire fastening, while others have configurations optimized for electrode wires. This localized optimization allows separate fastening of antenna and electrode wires to different struts, minimizing interference while managing complexity through strategic placement rather than uniform design.
3Ease of operation
If stent struts are made narrow for flexibility during insertion, then the ease of operation during insertion is improved, but the strength for securing wires deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
Each strut features a non-uniform cross-section with a wider section specifically positioned for wire fastening and a narrower section for flexibility. The wider section provides the necessary strength and surface area for securing wires, while the narrower portions maintain the overall flexibility of the stent during insertion and deployment.
Solution Approach 2:
Each strut is effectively segmented into functional zones: a wider strength-providing section for wire attachment and a narrower flexibility-providing section for navigation. This segmentation allows each strut to simultaneously exhibit both strength where needed and flexibility where needed, resolving the contradiction between these two properties.
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
This configuration enables effective electrical stimulation of blood vessels, improving treatment outcomes for heart failure and hypertension by ensuring reliable energy delivery and minimizing radial constraints during stent insertion.
Implementation Method 1
The second antenna transmits an electrical signal to the first antenna via inductive coupling
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2A
Figure 2B
AI summary
Apparatus comprising: a stent (20) comprising a generally cylindrical stent body that comprises a plurality of struts, a first one of the struts (168) comprising a first widened flat portion that defines a flat surface (138) having a first width, a second one of the struts (170) comprising a second widened flat portion that defines a flat surface (140) having a second width that is different from the first width; at least one antenna (28) coupled to the stent (20); at least one electrode (22) coupled to the stent (20); control circuitry (32) coupled to the stent (20); an antenna wire (166) configured to transmit electrical energy between the antenna (28) and the control circuitry (32), the antenna wire (166) being coupled to the stent (20) by being fastened against the first widened flat portion; and an electrode wire (150,152,158,172) configured to transmit electrical energy between the at least one electrode (22) and the control circuitry (32), the electrode wire (150,152,158,172) being coupled to the stent (20) by being fastened against the second widened flat portion.