Self-Expanding Thrombus Retraction Device
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current medical devices for treating deep vein thrombosis (DVT) and pulmonary embolism (PE) are inadequate as they often fragment clots, cause vascular damage, and are costly, with limited ability to safely and completely remove clots of varying densities in a single pass without embolization risks.
Innovation Solution
A self-expandable intravascular thrombus retraction device with a wire mesh web and radial ring-shaped structure, deployable within a catheter, that captures and removes clots by expanding past the thrombus, allowing for safe retrieval without fragmenting, and can be used in both soft and hard clot conditions.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If current medical devices are used to remove clots, then clot removal is attempted, but clot fragmentation and embolization occur causing vascular damage
Solution Approach 1:
The device employs a nested structure where the wire mesh web is contained within a delivery catheter, and the radial ring-shaped structure is integrated within the wire mesh assembly. This nested configuration allows the device to be delivered through standard catheters while maintaining structural integrity, preventing clot fragmentation during insertion and deployment.
Solution Approach 2:
The wire mesh web functions as a flexible filtering structure that can adapt to the thrombus shape while maintaining sufficient mechanical strength. The flexible wire mesh captures clots of varying densities without rigid contact that would cause fragmentation, thereby reducing embolization risk while ensuring safe clot removal.
2Productivity
If standard thrombectomy devices are used, then clot removal is performed, but the ability to completely remove clots of varying densities in a single pass is limited
Solution Approach 1:
The wire mesh web with variable aperture sizes provides universal functionality to capture different types of clots including soft thrombi and hard calcified materials. The radial ring-shaped structure supports the mesh to maintain its shape during retrieval, enabling complete clot removal in a single pass across various clot densities and compositions.
Solution Approach 2:
The wire mesh web features non-uniform aperture distribution with different opening sizes in different regions, allowing localized adaptation to various clot densities. Larger apertures accommodate harder, more structured clots while smaller apertures capture softer thrombus material, enabling comprehensive clot capture in a single device.
3Reliability
If clot removal devices are used, then thrombus extraction is attempted, but vascular damage occurs during the procedure
Solution Approach 1:
The device replaces aggressive mechanical force-based clot removal with a passive filtering mechanism. The wire mesh web captures clots through its aperture structure during gentle retraction, eliminating the need for high-force mechanical disruption that causes vascular damage, thereby improving vascular safety.
4Ease of manufacture
If cost-effective thrombectomy devices are needed, then simpler devices are used, but they lack the capability to safely remove all clot types
Solution Approach 1:
The wire mesh web employs parameter variation in aperture size across different regions of the mesh, allowing a single device structure to handle multiple clot types. This parameter change approach maintains manufacturing simplicity while achieving adaptability to various clot densities and compositions.
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 effectively captures and removes clots of any density in a single pass, reducing the risk of fragmentation and embolization, while being biocompatible and compatible with standard medical catheters, enhancing first-pass recanalization rates and minimizing vascular damage.
Implementation Method 1
wires that are compressible into a compact cylindrical form within a catheter and are self-expandable into a wire mesh web with at least some parallel wires forming openings in the wire mesh sufficient to allow fluid passage and small enough to filter particles of at least 0.001 mm
Implementation Method 2
a base of the wire mesh web connected to radial ring-shaped structure supporting and maintaining an opening in the base of the wire mesh and forming a thrombus capture volume
Implementation Method 3
the radial ring-shaped structure being compressible into the catheter and being self-expandable when free of compressive forces within the catheter to open up into an open, expanded, radial ring-shaped structure
Data Source
AI summary
An intravascular thrombus retraction device includes: wires that are compressible into a compact cylindrical form within a catheter and are self-expandable into a wire mesh web with at least some parallel wires forming openings in the wire mesh sufficient to allow fluid passage and small enough to filter particles of at least 0.001 mm, a base of the wire mesh web connected to radial ring-shaped structure supporting and maintaining an opening in the base of the wire mesh and forming a thrombus capture volume, and the radial ring-shaped structure being compressible into the catheter and being self-expandable or expandable by struts when free of compressive forces within the catheter to open up into an open, expanded, radial ring-shaped structure which maintains the opening in the opening in the base of the wire mesh.