Variable-Length Ureteral Stent With Intraoperative Trimming
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing ureteral stents require hospitals to inventory multiple lengths and diameters, leading to inefficiencies and challenges in accommodating varying patient anatomies, with fixed-length stents causing discomfort and additional costs due to misplacement.
Innovation Solution
A stent design with modifiable length and removable anti-coiling material, allowing intraoperative trimming to achieve the ideal length using a single product, featuring adjustable retention structures and indices for precise length adjustment.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If hospitals inventory multiple stent lengths to accommodate varying patient anatomies, then patient fit is improved, but inventory complexity and storage costs increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent describes a universal stent platform available in different diameters that can be customized to any length requirement. This single platform design allows hospitals to stock fewer base products while achieving the same level of anatomical adaptability through intraoperative customization, directly resolving the contradiction between patient fit and inventory complexity
Solution Approach 2:
The stent incorporates a dynamic length adjustment mechanism where excess distal portion can be trimmed intraoperatively to achieve precise length matching for each patient's anatomy. This transforms the stent from a static fixed-length device to a dynamically adjustable one, eliminating the need to pre-inventory multiple length variants
2Ease of manufacture
If fixed-length stents are used, then manufacturing and inventory are simplified, but patient discomfort increases due to misplacement
Solution Approach 1:
The stent design allows dynamic length adjustment by trimming the excess distal portion intraoperatively. This transforms a potentially harmful fixed-length device into a customizable one that can be precisely matched to each patient's anatomy, eliminating discomfort while maintaining manufacturing simplicity through a standardized base design
Solution Approach 2:
The stent is manufactured with a predetermined standard length that exceeds the minimum requirement, and the excess portion is removed in advance during the procedure. This preliminary action of providing extra length that is then trimmed ensures proper placement without discomfort while keeping the base manufacturing process simple and standardized
3Reliability
If stents with excessive length are used, then coverage is ensured, but foreign body reaction and discomfort increase
Solution Approach 1:
The stent provides a dynamic solution where the distal portion length is adjusted intraoperatively to match the exact coverage needed for each patient's anatomy. This eliminates the foreign body reaction and discomfort caused by excessive length while ensuring reliable coverage through precise customization
Solution Approach 2:
The stent is manufactured with sufficient excess length to ensure coverage for all potential applications, and the unnecessary portion is removed in advance during the procedure. This preliminary trimming action ensures that the stent provides reliable coverage without generating harmful foreign body reactions from excessive material
Data Source
AI summary
A stent comprising a tubular member, a lumen extending through the tubular member, a first retention structure and a second retention structure at opposite ends of the tubular member. The first retention structure comprises multiple coils and a removable anti-coiling material over the multiple coils of the first retention structure to present the multiple coils as an elongated extension of the tubular member, whereupon removal of the removable anti-coiling material at least one of the multiple coils of the first retention structure is presented and any excess coils can be trimmed.