Stent Drug Loading via Digital Image Guidance
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing methods for loading medicaments and polymers onto drug eluting stents face challenges in precise placement, leading to potential thrombus formation due to medicament and polymer concentration changes, especially in small grooves or holes, resulting in reduced efficacy and increased risk of blood vessel narrowing.
Innovation Solution
A method utilizing digital image processing and precise positioning technology to accurately dispense medicaments and polymers into the grooves or holes of a stent, ensuring the outlet of the loading device is aligned with the center of the stent features, thereby preventing medicament and polymer from being dispensed outside the intended areas.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Manufacturing precision
If traditional coating methods are used to load medicaments and polymers onto stent surfaces, then the process is simple and fast, but the precision of medicament placement is poor leading to potential thrombus formation
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces traditional mechanical coating methods with a digital image guidance system. A camera captures stent groove positions, image processing algorithms identify groove locations and dimensions, and a computer controls the loading device to precisely dispense medicament and polymer only into detected grooves. This substitution of mechanical trial-and-error coating with digital vision-based precision control resolves the contradiction by achieving high placement accuracy without requiring complex mechanical positioning mechanisms.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces an image processing system as an intermediary between the stent and the loading device. The camera and image processing software act as mediators that detect groove positions and translate them into controlled dispensing actions. This intermediary layer enables precise medicament placement by bridging the gap between the physical stent structure and the loading mechanism, achieving high precision without direct mechanical complexity in the loading device itself.
2Reliability
If medicament and polymer are mixed and coated on stent surface, then the coating process is straightforward, but the continuous decrease in medicament concentration and increase in polymer concentration may lead to thrombus formation
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality by treating different stent regions differently - medicament is loaded only into grooves while polymer is loaded into both grooves and inter-stent spaces. This spatial differentiation ensures medicament is concentrated where needed for controlled release, while polymer provides structural support elsewhere. The digital image guidance enables this selective local loading, preventing thrombus formation by maintaining proper medicament-to-polymer ratios at critical locations without requiring complex manual coating procedures.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent employs preliminary action by first capturing an image of the stent to identify all groove positions and dimensions before loading begins. The image processing system pre-processes this data to create a loading map that guides subsequent medicament and polymer dispensing. This preliminary digital characterization enables precise control over where and how much material is deposited, ensuring reliable thrombus prevention through controlled concentration gradients while maintaining manufacturing simplicity through automated guidance.
3Measurement precision
If small grooves are used for medicament storage, then the positional release precision is high, but the traditional coating method fails to precisely identify and locate groove positions
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces manual visual inspection and mechanical positioning methods with a digital image processing system. A camera captures high-resolution images of the stent, and software algorithms automatically identify groove positions, dimensions, and orientations. This digital detection system overcomes the limitations of human vision and manual measurement, enabling precise identification of small grooves that would be difficult to locate and measure using traditional methods, while the computer-controlled loading device then uses this data for accurate material deposition.
Data Source
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AI summary
A method for loading a medical appliance with a medicament and/or a polymer is disclosed, the medical appliance comprising one or more grooves or holes loaded with the medicament and/or polymer. The method comprising the steps of: 1) capturing an image of the grooves or holes of the medical appliance, wherein the image contains at least one complete pattern of the grooves or holes; 2) performing digital image processing on the captured image to obtain the pattern of the grooves or holes; 3) calculating a central position of the pattern of the grooves or holes, and determining an actual central position of the grooves or holes based on the central position; 4) adjusting a relative position of a loading device to the medical appliance to align an outlet of the loading device with the actual central position of the grooves or holes; and 5) opening the outlet of the loading device to load the grooves or holes. A device for loading a medical appliance with a medicament and/or a polymer is further disclosed.