Temporary Expandable Helical Filament Support for Reversible Lumen Treatment
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current treatments for narrowing or occlusion of body lumens, such as in blood vessels and airways, face challenges in providing effective, reversible support and delivery of therapeutic agents, often requiring multiple interventions and high costs.
Innovation Solution
A scaffold-like device formed from superimposed helical filaments, actuated by inner and outer shafts, allows for radial expansion and collapse, enabling temporary support and delivery of therapeutic agents while maintaining a low profile for delivery and conforming to anatomical variations.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Duration of action of moving object
If permanent stents are used to support lumens, then structural support is provided, but the ability to provide temporary and reversible support is lost
Solution Approach 1:
The stent is designed with shape memory alloy filaments that can dynamically change their mechanical properties between a compressed low-profile state for delivery and an expanded support state for treatment. The filaments exhibit superelasticity and shape memory effects, allowing the stent to be temporarily deployed, provide structural support, and then completely removed after the therapeutic effect is achieved, thus providing reversible support rather than permanent implantation.
2Productivity
If large-profile devices are used to deliver therapeutic agents, then adequate support and drug delivery capability are provided, but delivery through narrow body lumens becomes difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The stent utilizes shape memory alloy filaments that can transition between a compressed configuration with low profile for delivery through narrow catheters and body lumens, and an expanded configuration with adequate radial strength for therapeutic agent delivery and lumen support. This dynamic shape transformation enables the device to pass through restrictive anatomical pathways while maintaining the capability to provide effective treatment.
Solution Approach 2:
The stent is designed to be nested within a delivery catheter in a compressed state, allowing it to be delivered through narrow body lumens. Once positioned at the target site, the stent is deployed and expanded from its nested configuration to provide adequate surface area for therapeutic agent delivery while maintaining the ability to be completely removed after treatment.
3Reliability
If multiple interventions are performed to treat lumen occlusion, then treatment effectiveness may be improved, but treatment cost and patient burden increase
Solution Approach 1:
The stent is designed as a multi-functional device that can simultaneously provide lumen support, deliver therapeutic agents, and be completely removed after treatment. This universal design allows a single intervention to address multiple treatment needs that previously required separate procedures, thereby improving treatment effectiveness while reducing the number of interventions required and associated patient burden.
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 device provides reversible support to lumens, allows repeated expansion and collapse without fatigue, and facilitates therapeutic agent delivery, adapting to anatomical contours for effective treatment.
Implementation Method 1
The tubular body may be formed from a plurality of shape memory alloy (SMA) filaments
Implementation Method 2
The tubular body may be formed from a plurality of superelastic filaments
Data Source
AI summary
A temporary expandable tissue support device includes a plurality of helical filaments superimposed on top of one another to form a tubular body. A first end of the tubular body is coupled to an inner shaft, and a second end of the tubular body is coupled to an outer shaft slidably disposed over the inner shaft. Actuation of the inner and outer shafts in a first direction compresses the plurality of filaments thereby radially expanding the tubular body into an expanded configuration adapted to engage and support tissue at a treatment site without obstructing a fluid from flowing past the tubular body. Actuation of the shafts in a second direction opposite the first direction tensions the plurality of filaments thereby radially collapsing the tubular body into a collapsed configuration that is adapted to be delivered to or removed from the treatment site.