Turbulator Mixing Treatment Fluids in Body Lumens
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current medical procedures face challenges in effectively mixing treatment fluids with body fluids within body lumens, leading to incomplete uptake of treatment agents by targeted tissues and potential toxicity or overuse due to difficulties in accessing certain body parts and controlling fluid flow.
Innovation Solution
The turbulator device, featuring an elongate flow perturbing component with a nonporous proximal segment and a porous distal segment, includes a shape controlling component that adjusts from a low profile configuration for lumen access to an expanded profile configuration to induce turbulence, promoting mixing of treatment fluids with body fluids within the body lumen.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Quantity of substance
If treatment fluid is supplied into a body lumen for intraluminal treatment, then the treatment agent can reach the target tissue, but incomplete mixing with body fluid leads to incomplete uptake by targeted tissues and potential toxicity to downstream tissues
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs a turbulator device that introduces mechanical disturbance and turbulence into the fluid flow within the body lumen. This mechanical vibration/turbulence enhances mixing between the treatment fluid and body fluid, ensuring complete uptake of the treatment agent by target tissues while preventing extraneous administration to downstream tissues, thereby reducing toxicity.
2Quantity of substance
If mechanical agitators are used to physically displace and mix treatment fluids, then mixing effectiveness improves, but device complexity and difficulty of operation increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces complex mechanical agitator systems with a simpler turbulator device that relies on fluid dynamics and turbulence generation. This substitution maintains effective mixing while significantly reducing device complexity and ease of operation compared to mechanical displacement systems.
3Quantity of substance
If high doses of treatment agents are administered to ensure complete uptake, then treatment effectiveness improves, but toxicity to healthy tissue increases
Solution Approach 1:
The turbulator device creates controlled turbulence that enhances mass transfer and uptake efficiency of the treatment agent by target tissues. This improved uptake efficiency allows for reduced dosages of treatment agents while maintaining therapeutic effectiveness, thereby minimizing toxicity to healthy downstream tissues.
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 turbulator enhances the mixing of treatment fluids with body fluids, increasing the effectiveness of treatments by improving the distribution of agents to target tissues while minimizing exposure to downstream tissues, thus reducing the need for excessive agent doses and minimizing toxicity.
Implementation Method 1
adjusts from a low profile configuration for lumen access to an expanded profile configuration to induce turbulence, promoting mixing of treatment fluids with body fluids within the body lumen
Data Source
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AI summary
A turbulator (14) for promoting mixing of fluids passing through a body lumen includes an elongate flow perturbing component (16) and an elongate shape controlling component (50) freely slidable within the flow perturbing component. The turbulator is adjustable from a low profile, lumen access configuration to a deployed configuration via sliding the shape controlling component within the flow perturbing component. Adjusting the turbulator within a body lumen of a patient induces turbulence within a flow of fluid passing through the body lumen to increase mixing of a treatment fluid with the body fluid by way of the induced turbulence.