Therapeutic Agent Delivery Apparatus Using Pressure Source
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Current methods for delivering therapeutic agents, especially in a targeted and localized manner, face challenges such as inefficient delivery of powders and potential harm to healthy tissues due to non-uniform distribution, as existing systems often result in a weak stream of agents and struggle to precisely deliver therapeutic agents to specific sites within the body.
Innovation Solution
The apparatus employs a container with a pressure source and a catheter, where a flow obstruction member directs therapeutic agents uniformly through a tube member to a target site, utilizing a pressure source to ensure consistent and controlled delivery, allowing for precise localization of therapeutic agents, including powders, by creating a laminar flow and preventing non-uniform distribution.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Speed
If a syringe or similar device is used to inject the therapeutic agent into the lumen of the catheter, then the therapeutic agent can be delivered to the target site, but the stream of the injected therapeutic agent is relatively weak
Solution Approach 1:
The system is divided into separate functional components: a reservoir for the therapeutic agent, a catheter for delivery, and a pressure source for propulsion. This segmentation allows each component to be optimized independently, with the pressure source providing strong, controlled delivery without requiring a complex syringe mechanism.
Solution Approach 2:
A pressure source (pneumatic or hydraulic system) is used to propel the therapeutic agent through the catheter, replacing the manual syringe injection method. This provides a stronger, more controlled stream of therapeutic agent while simplifying the overall device architecture.
2Ease of operation
If therapeutic powder is held within a syringe or other container, then it can be stored and transported, but it cannot be easily delivered through a catheter to a target site in a localized manner
Solution Approach 1:
The system changes the physical state parameters of the therapeutic agent by using a pressure source to fluidize the powder and create a consistent flow. This allows the powder to be reliably delivered through the catheter in a controlled manner, achieving both ease of operation and delivery reliability.
Solution Approach 2:
A carrier fluid or gas acts as an intermediary between the therapeutic powder and the delivery system. The pressure source propels this intermediary through the catheter, which carries the therapeutic agent to the target site, enabling reliable delivery of powdered agents that would otherwise be difficult to administer.
3Object-affected harmful factors
If therapeutic agents are delivered without localized control, then general introduction of medicine is achieved, but exposure to normal, healthy tissues increases potentially harmful side effects
Solution Approach 1:
The catheter delivery system provides localized quality control by directing the therapeutic agent to a specific target site within the body. The pressure source enables precise control over where the agent is released, ensuring that healthy tissues are not unnecessarily exposed to potentially harmful substances while maintaining device simplicity.
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
This solution enables efficient, precise, and localized delivery of therapeutic agents, reducing side effects by ensuring a consistent and uniform amount of the agent reaches the target site, even for powders, and allows for targeted treatment with reduced exposure to healthy tissues.
Implementation Method 1
a pressure source for propelling fluid from a proximal end of the container through the container to urge the therapeutic agent through a distal end of the container and towards the target site
Implementation Method 2
creating a laminar flow and preventing non-uniform distribution
Data Source
Figure 1~2
Figure 3~5
Figure 6~7
AI summary
The present embodiments provide apparatus and methods suitable for containing and delivering a therapeutic agent to a target site. The apparatus generally comprises at least one container (18) for holding a therapeutic agent, and a pressure source (70) for facilitating delivery of the therapeutic agent. In one embodiment, the pressure source may be placed in selective fluid communication with a proximal region of the container and fluid from the pressure source may flow through at least a portion of the container to urge the therapeutic agent through the container towards the target site. In an alternative embodiment, the pressure source may be selectively in fluid communication with either a first hollow tube (62) and the container so that therapeutic agent is urged into a catheter, or with a second hollow tube (63) and a catheter so that a fluid from the pressure source bypasses the container and enters the catheter.