Adjustable Stent Mandrel With Movable Pins for Anti-Migration Forming
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Forming stents with anti-migration features is challenging due to difficulties in accurately and repeatedly creating these features during the manufacturing process.
Innovation Solution
An adjustable mandrel with a mandrel body, movable pins, and an actuation element is used to form stents with anti-migration features by extending pins radially outward from the mandrel, allowing for precise shaping and anchoring of the stent within a body lumen.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Manufacturing precision
If conventional mandrels are used to form stents with anti-migration features, then the manufacturing process is simple, but the accuracy and repeatability of forming anti-migration features is poor
Solution Approach 1:
The mandrel incorporates movable pins that can be extended and retracted. The pins are positioned in a retracted state during stent formation and then extended to form the anti-migration features. This dynamic mechanism allows the same mandrel to achieve different geometric configurations (smooth surface during forming, protruding pins for anti-migration features) without changing the mandrel structure itself, thereby improving manufacturing precision while controlling device complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The mandrel is divided into distinct functional components: the main mandrel body and separate movable pins. The pins can be independently controlled to extend from specific locations on the mandrel surface. This segmentation allows precise control over where anti-migration features are formed, improving both accuracy and repeatability of the manufacturing process.
2Reliability
If movable pins are added to the mandrel to form anti-migration features, then the reliability of anti-migration features is improved, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The movable pins are integrated into the mandrel body through threaded apertures, combining the pin mechanism with the mandrel structure. The actuation element that controls pin extension is also integrated into the mandrel assembly. This merging approach ensures that while the device complexity increases to provide reliable anti-migration features, the overall structure remains cohesive and manageable rather than becoming a collection of separate, difficult-to-assemble components.
3Manufacturing precision
If multiple pins are used to form consistent anti-migration features, then the repeatability of stent manufacturing is improved, but the ease of manufacture decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The mandrel with its array of movable pins serves multiple functions: it forms the stent geometry, creates consistent anti-migration features through the pins, and provides a standardized platform for repeated production. The universal design of the mandrel allows the same device to be used for manufacturing multiple stents with identical anti-migration features, improving repeatability while the modular pin design maintains ease of manufacture through standardized components.
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 mandrel effectively forms stents with consistent and reliable anti-migration features, enhancing the stent's ability to anchor in place within the body lumen, addressing the challenges of accuracy and repeatability in stent manufacturing.
Implementation Method 1
an actuation element engagable with the bore extending within the mandrel body and including a tapered surface configured to engage the one or more movable pins, the actuation element being actuatable relative to the mandrel body such that the tapered surface supports the one or more movable pins extended from the one or more apertures
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2
Figure 3
AI summary
A mandrel for forming a stent with a tapered profile and one or more anti-migration features includes a first stent shaping segment having a first diameter, a second stent shaping segment having a second diameter less than the first diameter and a tapered segment disposed therebetween. A third stent shaping segment is releasably securable to the second stent shaping segment and has a third diameter greater than the second diameter. One or more movable pins are outwardly extendable from corresponding apertures formed within the tapered segment. An actuation element is engagable with the first stent shaping segment and includes a tapered surface configured to engage the one or more movable pins and support the one or more movable pins extended from the corresponding apertures.