Bronchoscopic Thermal Vapor Ablation for Lung Volume Reduction
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current treatments for COPD and emphysema, such as bronchodilators and pulmonary rehabilitation, fail to significantly improve lung function or slow disease progression, and minimally invasive approaches like bronchoscopic lung volume reduction are limited by collateral ventilation, necessitating a more effective method to reduce lung volume and improve patient outcomes.
Innovation Solution
The use of Bronchoscopic Thermal Vapor Ablation (BTVA) involves delivering vapor at controlled temperatures and doses to lung tissue, causing energy transfer that induces coagulative necrosis and subsequent fibrosis, reducing lung volume and improving lung function by ablating microvasculature and altering tissue structure.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If bronchodilators and standard medical therapy are used to treat COPD, then symptomatic relief is achieved, but lung function does not significantly improve and disease progression is not arrested
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces conventional medical therapy (bronchodilators, steroids) with a physical/thermal intervention system. A catheter delivers thermal energy (vapor or liquid) directly to lung tissue, using heat transfer mechanisms to achieve lung volume reduction and improve lung function, thereby substituting pharmacological approaches with a physical treatment modality.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent utilizes phase transitions of water (liquid-vapor-ice) as the delivery medium and mechanism for thermal energy transfer. The system can deliver vapor, liquid, or ice to the lung tissue, leveraging the phase change properties to control heat transfer rates and achieve desired tissue effects, which is a distinctive physical chemistry approach.
2Reliability
If lung volume reduction surgery is performed to treat emphysema, then lung function and quality of life improve, but operative mortality rate is high (18%)
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces open surgical resection (mechanical tissue removal) with a minimally invasive thermal ablation technique. Instead of cutting and removing lung tissue through large incisions, the system uses thermal energy delivered via a catheter to achieve the same lung volume reduction effect, thereby eliminating the high operative mortality risk associated with traditional surgery.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces thermal energy (vapor, liquid, or ice) as an intermediary medium to achieve tissue destruction and lung volume reduction. This intermediary thermal field acts as a mediator between the external treatment source and the internal lung tissue, enabling non-contact, minimally invasive treatment that avoids direct surgical trauma.
3Ease of operation
If bronchoscopic lung volume reduction is used to treat COPD, then minimally invasive treatment is achieved, but treatment effectiveness is limited by collateral ventilation
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the physical parameters of the delivered medium (temperature, phase state, delivery rate) to enhance treatment effectiveness. By controlling these parameters, the system can deliver sufficient thermal energy to overcome collateral ventilation effects and achieve reliable lung volume reduction, even in the presence of alternative airway pathways.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent utilizes phase transitions of water (liquid-vapor-ice) as the delivery medium and mechanism for thermal energy transfer. The system can deliver vapor, liquid, or ice to the lung tissue, leveraging the phase change properties to control heat transfer rates and achieve desired tissue effects, which is a distinctive physical chemistry approach.
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
BTVA effectively reduces lung volume, improves exercise capacity, reduces dyspnea, and decreases the need for supplemental oxygen, while being applicable in the presence of collateral ventilation and suitable for various lung conditions, including tumors and infections.
Implementation Method 1
the vapor undergoes a phase change to liquid, and energy released during the phase change is transferred to the lung tissue to injure the tissue
Implementation Method 2
delivering vapor through the delivery device to the lung tissue to be treated... energy released during the phase change is transferred to the lung tissue to injure the tissue
Data Source
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AI summary
Methods and systems for determining patient specific treatment parameters for delivering vapor to the lung to treat lung tissue. In some embodiments vapor is delivered to the lung to cause coagulative necrosis, inducing fibrosis and thereby reducing the volume of at least one segment of the lung. The delivery parameters can be adjusted depending on the desired degree of injury to be induced in the lung tissue.