Tissue-Removing Catheter With Oblique Distal Face for Obstruction Navigation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing tissue-removing catheters face challenges in efficiently navigating and removing tissue from body lumens, particularly in cases of severe calcification, where obstructions can hinder the catheter's progress and increase the risk of complications.
Innovation Solution
A tissue-removing catheter with a rotatable element featuring an oblique distal end face that facilitates efficient navigation and removal of tissue by reducing hang-ups and improving centering, allowing the catheter to bypass obstructions and maintain stability during rotation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If a conventional tissue-removing element with a perpendicular distal end face is used, then the structure is simple and easy to manufacture, but the catheter experiences frequent hang-ups and reduced efficiency when navigating obstructions in body lumens
Solution Approach 1:
The distal end face of the tissue-removing element is designed with an oblique angle rather than a perpendicular orientation, creating an asymmetric geometry that allows the element to engage obstructions at an angle and rotate away from them during rotation, thereby reducing hang-ups and improving navigation efficiency through body lumens
2Reliability
If a tissue-removing element with an oblique distal end face is used, then the catheter can bypass obstructions more effectively and reduce hang-ups, but the manufacturing complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The distal end face is designed with specific oblique angle parameters that can be manufactured using standard CNC machining or milling processes, where the angle parameter is optimized to balance navigation performance with manufacturability. The geometric parameters are defined such that they can be precisely controlled during fabrication without requiring complex custom manufacturing procedures
3Productivity
If the tissue-removing element rotates at high speed to improve tissue removal efficiency, then debulking performance increases, but the risk of burrowing into false lumens increases
Solution Approach 1:
The oblique distal end face creates an asymmetric engagement profile that allows the rotating element to encounter obstructions at an angle rather than head-on. During high-speed rotation, this geometric feature causes the element to tend to rotate away from engagement with false lumens rather than burrowing into them, thereby reducing harmful effects while maintaining high tissue removal efficiency
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 oblique distal end face enhances the catheter's ability to efficiently traverse obstructions, reducing hang-ups and improving lesion debulking efficacy while minimizing the risk of burrowing into false lumens.
Implementation Method 1
Atherectomy catheters may employ a rotating element which is used to abrade or otherwise debulk the unwanted tissue
Implementation Method 2
The tissue-removing element is configured to be rotated about its central axis to remove tissue from the body lumen
Data Source
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AI summary
A tissue-removing catheter for removing tissue in a body lumen includes an elongate catheter body. A tissue-removing element is operatively coupled to a distal end portion of the elongate catheter body. The tissue-removing element has a central axis. The tissue-removing element is configured to be rotated about its central axis to remove tissue from the body lumen. A distal end portion of the tissue-removing element includes a distal end face at a distal-most end of the tissue-removing element. The distal end face has a perimeter and a diameter extending through the central axis. Diametrically opposite points on the perimeter lie in a plane that is oblique to the central axis of the tissue-removing element.