Transvascular Reshaping Lead for Selective Nerve Stimulation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current methods for selective activation of nerve trunks are limited in their ability to target specific nerve bundles within a nerve trunk without stimulating adjacent areas, leading to inefficiencies and potential side effects, particularly in treating conditions like heart failure and myocardial infarction where precise autonomic balance is crucial.
Innovation Solution
A transvascular reshaping lead is implanted near a nerve trunk, expanding to reshape the blood vessel and nerve trunk into an elongated shape, allowing for closer proximity of neural fibers to electrodes and increasing the surface area for electrical contact, enabling selective activation of nerve bundles with lower amplitude and shorter pulse widths.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If complex practices such as current steering, inter-neural electrodes, and selective geometries are used to achieve selective activation of nerve bundles, then the ability to target specific nerve bundles within a nerve trunk is improved, but the device complexity and difficulty of implementation increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a radial dimension by placing electrodes around the circumference of the nerve trunk and using expandable structures to push nerve bundles radially outward. This dimensional approach allows selective activation by targeting specific angular sectors or radial positions, achieving bundle-specific stimulation without complex current steering algorithms or inter-neural electrode configurations.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent segments the nerve trunk into multiple addressable regions by using circumferentially distributed electrodes and/or expandable segments that can be selectively deployed. This segmentation allows independent stimulation of different nerve bundle groups located at different angular positions or radial distances, achieving selective activation through spatial compartmentalization rather than complex electrical control.
2Ease of operation
If standard transvascular leads are used, then the implantation procedure is simplified, but the ability to selectively activate specific nerve bundles is insufficient due to limited electrode-nerve proximity and contact area
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs an expandable lead structure that transitions from a compressed delivery configuration to an expanded deployed configuration. This dynamic transformation allows the lead to be delivered through standard transvascular approaches using conventional catheter techniques, then expanded at the target site to achieve close apposition to the nerve trunk and multiple electrode contacts, thereby achieving selective activation capability without complicating the implantation procedure.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent uses a nested delivery system where the expandable lead structure is contained within a delivery catheter during implantation. The lead is compressed and nested within the catheter lumen, allowing percutaneous transvascular delivery through standard access routes. Upon deployment, the lead expands outward to engage the nerve trunk, achieving both ease of delivery and effective nerve contact.
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 approach allows for more reliable and efficient selective activation of nerve bundles, reducing the risk of side effects and improving treatment outcomes by enhancing access to specific nerve fibers, thereby improving autonomic balance and reducing mortality and arrhythmia risks in heart failure and post-myocardial infarction conditions.
Implementation Method 1
expanding an expandable portion of a lead, adapted to be chronically implanted in a blood vessel proximate a nerve trunk, to reshape the blood vessel to an elongated shape and to reshape the nerve trunk into an elongated shape to spread nerve bundles of the nerve trunk
Implementation Method 2
delivering an electrical signal from an implanted medical device to an electrode positioned at the expandable portion of the lead to transvascularly deliver neural stimulation from the electrode to at least one of the nerve bundles of the nerve trunk
Data Source
AI summary
A system for selective activation of a nerve trunk using a transvascular reshaping lead is provided. One aspect of this disclosure relates to a system for spreading nerve bundles in a nerve trunk. The system includes a lead adapted to be chronically implanted in a blood vessel proximate a nerve trunk, and having an expandable portion adapted to be expanded to reshape the blood vessel to an elongated shape and to reshape the nerve trunk into an elongated shape to spread nerve bundles of the nerve trunk. The system also includes a plurality of electrodes and an implantable device coupled to the lead, where an electrical signal is delivered from the implanted medical device to one of the plurality of electrodes to transvascularly deliver neural stimulation from the electrode to at least one of the nerve bundles of the nerve trunk. Other aspects and embodiments are provided herein.