Endovascular Catheter Tuned Control Members Renal Neuromodulation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current pharmacologic strategies for managing excessive renal sympathetic activity, such as hypertension and heart failure, have limitations including limited efficacy, compliance issues, and side effects, and do not effectively address the underlying neural regulation of renal function.
Innovation Solution
The development of endovascular catheters with tuned control members that facilitate electrically- and thermally-induced renal neuromodulation, allowing for the partial or complete incapacitation of renal nerves through percutaneous transluminal intravascular access, using energy delivery elements to apply thermal effects to the renal plexus and reduce sympathetic tone.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If pharmacologic strategies are used to manage excessive renal sympathetic activity, then renal sympathetic activity can be reduced, but treatment efficacy is limited and side effects occur
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces pharmacologic (chemical) treatment with a mechanical/physical system - an endovascular catheter that delivers thermal energy to renal nerves. The catheter with control members mechanically positions energy delivery elements against the renal artery, and thermal energy physically denatures neural tissue, eliminating the need for pharmacologic agents and their associated side effects
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the fundamental treatment parameter from chemical (pharmacologic agents) to physical (thermal energy). By controlling temperature parameters through the catheter system, the treatment achieves reliable renal sympathetic modulation without the limitations and side effects of pharmacologic approaches
2Reliability
If endovascular catheters with tuned control members are used for renal neuromodulation, then treatment efficacy is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The catheter is divided into multiple functional segments: a shaft for access, control members for positioning, energy delivery elements for thermal application, and expansion mechanisms for stabilization. This segmentation allows each component to perform its specific function efficiently, achieving reliable treatment despite the overall device complexity
Solution Approach 2:
The catheter integrates multiple functions into a single device: vascular access, neural targeting, thermal energy delivery, and positional stabilization. The control members serve both as positioning mechanisms and as anchors for the energy delivery elements, reducing the need for separate components and simplifying the overall system
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 effectively treats conditions associated with increased sympathetic activity by reducing renal sympathetic nerve activity, offering a minimally invasive method with potential benefits for various organs and structures innervated by sympathetic nerves, improving treatment outcomes for hypertension, heart failure, and other related conditions.
Implementation Method 1
using energy delivery elements to apply thermal effects to the renal plexus and reduce sympathetic tone
Data Source
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Figure 3A~3B
AI summary
Endovascular catheters and control wires for operating the catheters and associated systems, apparatuses, and methods are disclosed include a catheter apparatus having an elongated shaft, a therapeutic assembly at a distal portion of the shaft, and a handle at a proximal portion of the shaft. An actuator is located at the handle and operably coupled to the therapeutic assembly via a tuned control member extending through the shaft. The tuned control member includes a control wire and a tuning component attached to one another within the shaft. The tuned control member is configured to achieve a desired tuned force-displacement response by modifying the stress-strain response that a non-tuned control wire would ordinarily provide without the intervening tuning component.