Bioresorbable Connector Stent Managing Migration via Spring Constant Shift
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing stents face issues with migration after connector degradation, leading to potential occlusion and loss of patency in vessels due to unconnected annular rings.
Innovation Solution
A stent design featuring a helical structure with bioresorbable connectors that change spring constant upon exposure to biological tissue, maintaining structural integrity and preventing migration by using a combination of arcuate sections and bioresorbable connectors that absorb over time.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Duration of action of moving object
If bioresorbable connectors are used to connect annular rings, then the stent can be temporarily supported and eventually absorbed by the host body, but the connectors may degrade faster than tissue incorporation, causing the rings to migrate away from the original implantation site
Solution Approach 1:
The stent transitions from a rigid connected structure to a flexible disconnected structure over time. The connectors are designed to degrade at a controlled rate, allowing the stent to dynamically adapt its mechanical properties as tissue incorporation progresses, maintaining reliability throughout the temporary support period
Solution Approach 2:
The stent is designed with connectors that degrade at a predetermined rate slower than tissue incorporation. This preliminary design ensures that tissue integration begins before complete connector degradation, pre-establishing the mechanical bond needed to prevent migration before the connectors lose their holding capability
2Ease of operation
If the stent is designed as disconnected annular rings, then the stent can be delivered via a small incision, but the rings may migrate independently after connector degradation, causing occlusion and loss of patency
Solution Approach 1:
The stent is divided into multiple annular rings connected by degradable connectors, allowing the entire structure to be compressed into a small delivery catheter through a small incision. The segmented design enables easy delivery while the connectors maintain ring spacing and prevent independent migration during the critical tissue incorporation period
Solution Approach 2:
The connectors undergo parameter changes in their degradation rate, designed to degrade slower than tissue incorporation rate. This parameter control ensures that the mechanical connection between rings is maintained long enough to prevent migration and maintain vessel patency, while still allowing eventual complete absorption
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
The stent effectively maintains patency and prevents migration by altering its spring constant post-implantation, reducing the risk of occlusion and ensuring the stent remains securely in place within the vessel.
Implementation Method 1
The at least one connector is made from a material that is bioresorbed upon exposure to biological tissue
Implementation Method 2
The stent has a first spring constant in an unimplanted condition and a second different spring constant in an implanted condition
Data Source
AI summary
A stent including a plurality of curved sections and a connector. The curved sections surround a longitudinal axis to define a tube portion and are distributed along the longitudinal axis to form a helix. The connector includes a bioresorbable material and is positioned between two adjacent curved sections. The stent has a spring constant that changes to a different spring constant after exposure to biological material.