Intravascular Suction Catheter With Embedded Wire Reinforcement
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing intravascular catheter assemblies face limitations in effectively removing foreign matter like thrombi from blood vessels due to restricted luminal diameters, which can lead to obstruction and require frequent catheter replacement or suction through the central catheter, limiting their efficacy.
Innovation Solution
An intravascular foreign matter suction assembly comprising a guiding catheter and a suction catheter with a tubular portion and a solid wire-like portion, where the suction catheter projects beyond the guiding catheter's distal end, equipped with a flexible tip and hydrophilic coating for reduced damage and enhanced suction, allowing for deeper reach and effective removal of thrombi.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Length of moving object
If the catheter assembly uses the lumen of the central catheter or outside catheter as a suction path, then the suction function is provided, but the inner diameter is restricted by the finest portion of the blood vessel, limiting the suction effectiveness
Solution Approach 1:
The suction catheter is inserted through the lumen of the guiding catheter, creating a nested configuration where the suction catheter (inner doll) passes through the guiding catheter (outer doll). This allows the suction catheter to reach deep into the blood vessel beyond the guiding catheter's distal end while the guiding catheter provides external support and protection, resolving the contradiction between reach depth and suction capacity.
2Object-affected harmful factors
If the catheter is made with smaller material thickness to reduce vessel damage, then the vessel damage risk is reduced, but the catheter may kink and lose structural integrity
Solution Approach 1:
The suction catheter employs a thin-walled tubular structure that is flexible enough to navigate blood vessels without causing damage, while the solid wire-like portion embedded in the wall provides internal reinforcement to prevent kinking. This combination of flexible thin shell with internal support resolves the contradiction between minimizing vessel damage and maintaining structural integrity.
3Length of moving object
If the suction catheter projects beyond the guiding catheter for deeper reach, then the ability to remove foreign matter at target location is improved, but the risk of catheter damage and kinking increases
Solution Approach 1:
The solid wire-like portion acts as an intermediary reinforcement element embedded within the tubular portion's wall. This internal wire structure serves as a mediator that provides mechanical support to the thin-walled tube, preventing kinking and damage while allowing the catheter to project beyond the guiding catheter for deeper reach into the blood vessel.
Data Source
AI summary
An intravascular foreign matter suction assembly is insertable into a blood vessel having a relatively small diameter and exhibits a high suction force. The intravascular foreign matter suction assembly includes a combination of a guiding catheter for being inserted to an ostium of a coronary artery of the aorta and a suction catheter inserted in the lumen of the guiding catheter and extending farther than the distal end of the guiding catheter for removing foreign matter in a blood vessel which exists at a target location in the coronary artery. The suction catheter includes a tubular portion provided on the distal end side and a wire portion provided on the proximal end side of the tubular portion and wherein the wire portion has a distal end embedded in a wall which forms the tubular portion.