Conformal Cutting Electrode for Urethral Implant Dilation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) causes the prostate to enlarge, constricting the urethra and impeding urine flow, leading to difficult and painful urination.
Innovation Solution
A treatment apparatus with a delivery tool featuring an expandable element and a cutting electrode is used to dilate the urethra by expanding it with an inflatable balloon and forming an implant-receiving cut, allowing an implant to be inserted to maintain the urethra in a dilated state.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a cutting electrode is used to form a cut in the urethra, then the implant can be inserted to maintain urethral dilation, but tissue damage and bleeding occur
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces mechanical cutting methods with an electrical cutting electrode that uses electrical current to form the implant-receiving cut in the urethral tissue, enabling precise control and minimizing damage while maintaining the ability to insert the implant for sustained dilation
Solution Approach 2:
The cutting electrode serves as an intermediary tool that creates the necessary cut in the urethral tissue without directly contacting or damaging the implant, allowing the implant to be subsequently inserted to maintain dilation while the electrode performs the cutting function
2Manufacturing precision
If the cutting electrode is shaped to conform with the implant shape, then the cut is formed precisely without movement, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The cutting electrode is designed as a separate, conformal component that matches the implant geometry, allowing the electrode to be shaped independently to create the precise cut required for implant insertion without requiring complex integrated mechanisms
Solution Approach 2:
The cutting electrode is shaped to conform with the implant shape, creating a copy or replica of the implant geometry that allows the electrode to form the cut precisely without movement or rotation, simplifying the operation while maintaining accuracy
3Area of stationary object
If an expandable element is used to enlarge the urethra, then the constricted area is dilated, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The expandable element is designed to change its configuration dynamically, allowing it to be compressed for delivery through the delivery tool and then expanded at the target location to dilate the constricted urethral area, providing the necessary functionality while managing device complexity
Solution Approach 2:
The expandable element is nested within the delivery tool during delivery, allowing it to be advanced through the urethra in a compact form and then deployed at the treatment site to expand and dilate the constricted area, effectively managing space and complexity
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 apparatus effectively enlarges the urethra, reducing obstruction and maintaining urine flow by implanting a C-shaped open ring to keep the urethra dilated, minimizing tissue damage and bleeding.
Implementation Method 1
a cutting electrode releasably coupled to an outer surface of the implant and configured to apply electrical current to tissue of the urethra to form an implant-receiving cut in tissue surrounding the lumen of the urethra by the application of the electrical current
Data Source
AI summary
Apparatus (20) for treatment of a constricted urethra (90), is provided. A delivery tool (30) is advanced to a location in an area of the urethra that is to be treated (92). A distal portion (34) of the delivery tool includes an expandable element (50) that is expanded within the urethra, an implant (70) disposed outside the outer surface of the expandable element, and a cutting electrode (60) releasably coupled to an outer surface of the implant and configured to apply electrical current to tissue of the urethra to form an implant-receiving cut in tissue surrounding the lumen of the urethra by the application of the electrical current. The cutting electrode is shaped to conform with the shape of the implant such that the implant-receiving cut is formed in the shape of the implant substantially without movement, e.g., rotation of the cutting electrode. Other applications are also described.