Subdural Drainage Catheter with Self-Clearing Stylet Mechanism
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current subdural hematoma treatment devices, such as the subdural evacuation port system (SEPS), often experience occlusions that require additional surgical procedures to clear blockages, potentially compromising sterility and risking brain tissue injury.
Innovation Solution
A subdural drainage system with a movable housing and stylet that transitions between withdrawn and extended positions to disrupt blockages within the drainage device or catheter, allowing for obstruction clearance without removing the catheter or breaking sterility.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If a subdural evacuation port system is used to drain hematoma, then drainage efficiency is improved, but catheter occlusion occurs leading to treatment failure
Solution Approach 1:
The catheter incorporates a movable stylet that can be dynamically repositioned between a first position (for initial drainage) and a second position (for clearing occlusions). This dynamic adjustment allows the same catheter to adapt to different operational states, maintaining patency by enabling mechanical disruption of clots or obstructions that form during drainage.
Solution Approach 2:
The stylet is designed to be manipulated through the catheter from the external end, allowing the operator to self-clear occlusions without removing the catheter or requiring additional surgical intervention. The system provides its own means of troubleshooting and maintaining functionality.
2Reliability
If additional surgical procedures are performed to clear blockages, then catheter patency is restored, but sterility is compromised and brain tissue injury risk increases
Solution Approach 1:
The stylet is extracted as a separate, dedicated component within the catheter system, specifically designed for the function of clearing occlusions. By isolating this function to a separate element that can be introduced and manipulated through the existing catheter pathway, the system eliminates the need for additional surgical incisions or foreign object insertions into the brain tissue.
Solution Approach 2:
The stylet acts as an intermediary tool that mediates between the operator and the occlusion. It can be manipulated through the catheter's lumen to disrupt clots or blockages, transferring the mechanical clearing action without requiring direct surgical intervention or compromising the sterile field established during initial catheter insertion.
3Ease of repair
If a stylet is extended through the catheter to clear blockages, then obstruction is disrupted, but catheter structure must be complex enough to contain the stylet
Solution Approach 1:
The stylet is nested within the catheter structure, fitting inside the catheter's lumen when not in use. This nesting arrangement allows the stylet to be stored compactly within the catheter body, extending only when needed for clearing occlusions, and retracting afterward to maintain a simple external profile.
Solution Approach 2:
The catheter system transitions from a static structure to a dynamic one where the stylet can be extended and retracted as needed. This dynamic configuration allows the system to maintain simplicity during normal drainage operations while providing complex functionality (occlusion clearing) only when required.
Data Source
AI summary
A subdural drainage system includes (a) a subdural drainage device having an opening formed therethrough, said subdural drainage device having an upper portion, a body portion, and a lower portion; (b) a housing having an upper portion and lower portion, with said housing connected to said subdural drainage device; said housing movable between (i) a first configuration and (ii) a second configuration; and (c) a stylet positioned inside said housing, said stylet having an upper portion and a lower portion and configured such that said stylet is moved between (i) a withdrawn position with said stylet withdrawn from a portion of said subdural evacuation port device, and (ii) an extended position with said stylet extending through said subdural drainage device such that blockages are disrupted in the subdural drainage device when said housing is moved between said first and second housing configurations; and (d) an external drain opening formed on either said subdural drainage device or said housing.