Valve Insertion Device with Pressure Sensor for Aortic Traversal
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
The difficulty in traversing stenotic and calcified aortic valves with wire guides during medical procedures, such as valvuloplasty and stenting, due to the valve's anatomy and the need for excessive fluoroscopy, which prolongs procedures and exposes patients to excessive radiation.
Innovation Solution
A valve insertion system that includes a pressure sensor connected to a control system to detect and predict valve openings, automatically actuating a wire guide advancement system to navigate through the valve, reducing the need for manual alignment and fluoroscopy.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a wire guide is manually advanced through the aortic valve using fluoroscopy guidance, then the valve can be traversed, but the procedure time increases and patient radiation exposure increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary detection of valve opening timing using pressure sensors before the wire guide advancement attempt. By detecting pressure changes that indicate valve opening, the system prepares the advancement mechanism in advance and executes the traversal during the optimal window, eliminating the need for repeated fluoroscopy-guided attempts and reducing procedure time
Solution Approach 2:
The pressure sensor provides real-time feedback about valve opening events to the control system. This feedback loop allows the system to automatically synchronize wire guide advancement with valve opening, ensuring reliable traversal while minimizing the time the wire guide needs to be manipulated under fluoroscopy
2Reliability
If fluoroscopy is used to guide wire guide advancement through the aortic valve, then the valve can be traversed, but the patient is exposed to excessive radiation
Solution Approach 1:
The system replaces fluoroscopy (radiation-based imaging) with a mechanical pressure sensing mechanism to detect valve opening. The pressure sensor detects pressure changes in the aorta that occur when the aortic valve opens, providing a radiation-free method to guide wire guide advancement timing
Solution Approach 2:
The pressure sensor and control system automatically detect valve opening events and trigger wire guide advancement without requiring continuous fluoroscopy monitoring. The system uses the body's own pressure changes as a signal, eliminating the need for external radiation-based guidance
3Strength
If the aortic valve is stenotic and calcified, then the valve structure is more rigid, but it becomes difficult to pass even a wire guide through the valve
Solution Approach 1:
The system exploits the dynamic opening motion of the calcified valve rather than trying to force the wire guide through a static structure. By detecting the natural opening event through pressure changes and synchronizing advancement with this dynamic phase, the wire guide can pass through the opened valve leaflets more easily
4Adaptability or versatility
If the artery leading up to the valve is curved, then the anatomical path is complex, but it becomes difficult to align the wire guide with the valve opening
Solution Approach 1:
The pressure sensor provides feedback about valve opening timing, allowing the operator to advance the wire guide precisely when the valve opens. This temporal feedback compensates for the difficulty of spatial alignment caused by arterial curvature, as the pressure wave travels through the curved artery to reach the sensor
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
Facilitates easier traversal of aortic valves with wire guides, shortening procedure time and minimizing patient radiation exposure by automating the valve traversal process.
Implementation Method 1
A pressure sensor is placed alongside the wire guide so that it can detect the fluid pressure of the region near the outflow of the valve
Implementation Method 2
by measuring the time between pressure spikes, the control system can predict when the valve will open
Data Source
AI summary
A valve insertion device for traversing a wire guide through a valve within an intraluminal passage. A wire guide is positioned near the outflow of a valve within an intraluminal passage. Alongside the wire guide, a pressure sensor is positioned to detect the pressure of the fluid in the intraluminal passage. As the valve opens, the fluid pressure at the outflow of the valve increases. This information is sent from the pressure sensor to a control system. From this information, the control system can determine when the valve will open and can actuate an advancement system to move the wire guide to traverse the open valve. After traversing the valve, various catheters and sheaths may be advanced over the wire guide through the valve.