Medical Transducer Shaft Temperature Control

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Solution Overview

Problem

Intravascular and percutaneous medical procedures face challenges in accurately delivering and positioning transducers within bodily cavities, particularly in cardiac surgeries, due to the complexity of catheter-based systems and the difficulty in creating lesions without causing thermal harm to practitioners or patients from increased energy delivery.

Innovation Solution

A medical device system featuring a shaft member with transducers and conductors that manage electrical power delivery to prevent excessive temperature increases, using a controller to regulate power levels and ensure safe tissue ablation while minimizing thermal risk.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Productivity

If increased energy levels are delivered via electrical conductors to activate more transducers, then the capability to create lesions in correct locations is improved, but the temperature of the carrier member increases to undesired levels causing thermal harm risk

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvetransducer activation capabilityVSAvoidthermal harm to practitioner or patient

Core Design Contradiction:

ProductivityVSObject-affected harmful factors

Solution Approach 1:

The system dynamically adjusts the activation state of transducers based on real-time temperature monitoring of the carrier member. The controller selectively activates or deactivates transducers to maintain temperature within safe thresholds, enabling flexible control of energy delivery to prevent thermal harm while maintaining treatment effectiveness

Inventive Principle:

Principle #15Dynamics

Solution Approach 2:

The system incorporates temperature sensors that continuously monitor the carrier member temperature and feed this information back to the controller. The controller uses this feedback to adjust transducer activation in real-time, creating a closed-loop control system that prevents temperature from rising to harmful levels while maximizing transducer utilization

Inventive Principle:

Principle #23Feedback

2Productivity

If multiple transducers are activated simultaneously to improve treatment efficiency, then the productivity of the procedure is improved, but the temperature of the carrier member reaches burn levels

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvetreatment efficiencyVSAvoidcarrier member temperature

Core Design Contradiction:

ProductivityVSTemperature

Solution Approach 1:

The system activates only the necessary number of transducers at any given time based on temperature constraints, rather than activating all transducers simultaneously. This partial action approach maintains treatment efficiency by using sufficient transducer activation to achieve therapeutic effect while preventing excessive temperature rise that would occur with full activation

Inventive Principle:

Principle #16Partial or excessive action

3Adaptability or versatility

If the carrier member is made more complex to accommodate multiple conductors and transducers, then the functionality for precise lesion creation is improved, but the device complexity increases making it harder to handle

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvelesion creation functionalityVSAvoidcarrier member structure

Core Design Contradiction:

Adaptability or versatilityVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The controller serves multiple functions by managing transducer activation, monitoring temperature data from sensors, making decisions about which transducers to activate or deactivate, and maintaining overall system coordination. This multi-functionality reduces the need for separate dedicated components for each task, thereby managing device complexity while maintaining advanced lesion creation capabilities

Inventive Principle:

Principle #6Universality (Multi-functionality)

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 system enables precise delivery and activation of transducers within bodily cavities, reducing the risk of thermal damage and improving the efficacy of procedures like atrial fibrillation treatment by controlling temperature and power distribution.

Implementation Method 1

various electrical conductors with portions thereof located within the carrier member, are employed to provide data communication paths, power delivery paths or both data communication and power delivery paths with various ones the transducers

Methodology Applied

Scientific EffectJoule heating: Joule Heating

Implementation Method 2

a first output power limit is defined as a level of power that, if delivered via a first set of conductors of the plurality of conductors to a first transducer set of the plurality of transducers

Methodology Applied

Scientific EffectThermal conduction: Conduction (thermal)

Data Source

PatentUS11911091B2Medical device systems and methods for activating transducers based on delivery shaft member temperature

Publication Date: 2024.02.27 KARDIUM

AI summary

In at least a medical system including a structure, a plurality of transducers located on the structure, a shaft member configured to percutaneously deliver the structure to a location within a patient, a plurality of conductors at least partially within the shaft member and coupled to the transducers, and a controller operatively coupled to the transducers via the conductors, the controller may cause first electrical power to be delivered to one or more of the transducers for a first period of time, where second electrical power less than the first electrical power, if delivered for a second period of time longer than the first period time would result in a steady-state temperature of a portion of the shaft member that would be just below a safe temperature limit for at least the portion of the shaft member.