Single-Handed VAD Probe Assembly for Patency Maintenance
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Solution Overview
Problem
The patency of intravenous (IV) devices, such as vascular access devices (VADs), can be compromised during long-term placement in a patient's blood vessel, leading to blockages and potential failure, which necessitates additional interventions and increases patient trauma.
Innovation Solution
An IV device assembly with a probe mechanism that includes a support member and translation handle, allowing for single-handed operation to check and maintain patency of the VAD without removing it from the body, featuring a collapsible sleeve and support member to ensure rigidity and ease of use.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a probe is used to check VAD patency, then the reliability of fluid access is improved, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The probe, translation handle, and support member are integrated into a single IV device assembly that couples to the VAD. The probe is mechanically coupled to the translation handle which moves within the support member, creating a unified system that checks patency without requiring separate components.
Solution Approach 2:
The probe is positioned within the support member, and the translation handle moves within the support member's internal channel. The collapsible sleeve encloses the probe and support member assembly, creating nested structures that reduce overall device complexity while maintaining functionality.
2Ease of operation
If a translation handle mechanism is added to advance the probe, then the ease of operation is improved, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The translation handle is designed to move dynamically within the support member's internal channel, allowing the probe to be advanced and retracted through simple linear motion. The handle's movement translates directly to probe position changes, providing intuitive single-handed operation.
Solution Approach 2:
The support member acts as an intermediary structure that guides the translation handle and converts its linear motion into effective probe advancement. The internal channel of the support member mediates between the handle's motion and the probe's position, simplifying the overall mechanism.
3Productivity
If the IV device assembly is made longer to accommodate the probe mechanism, then the productivity is improved, but the length of the device increases
Solution Approach 1:
The probe is nested within the support member, and the translation handle is nested within the support member's internal channel. The collapsible sleeve encloses these components, creating a compact nested structure that maintains productivity while minimizing the overall length of the IV device assembly.
Solution Approach 2:
The collapsible sleeve can compress the probe and support member assembly into a compact configuration when not in use, reducing the device length. When patency checking is needed, the sleeve expands to allow the probe mechanism to function, providing length only when productivity is required.
Data Source
AI summary
An IV device assembly may include a lumen forming a fluidic channel within the IV device assembly. The lumen may be fluidically coupled to a vascular access device (VAD) coupler via a funnel coupler, and an IV device assembly coupler at a proximal end of the lumen. The IV device assembly may also include one or more of the following: a collapsible sleeve formed coaxially around a first portion of the lumen and mechanically coupled to the funnel coupler, a probe formed along a second portion of the lumen within the collapsible sleeve and into the VAD coupler, a translation handle that translates the probe out of a distal end of the VAD coupler, and a fixed grip formed around the lumen to maintain a position of the IV device assembly relative to the translation handle.