Vascular Access Device with Retractable Guidewire and Shield
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing vascular access devices (VADs) often require multiple needle insertions for various procedures, causing trauma to the vein and encountering obstructions like thrombus, valves, and fibrin sheath, which hinder blood draw and other vascular functions.
Innovation Solution
A system with a deployable guidewire and retraction mechanism that allows needle-free access to the vascular system, utilizing an existing VAD to reduce trauma and overcome obstructions, featuring a tube with a guidewire that deploys and retracts through a vascular access device, and a protective shield to cover the guidewire in the deployed position.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If multiple VADs are connected to perform different vascular functions, then multiple procedures can be performed, but multiple needle insertions cause trauma to the vein
Solution Approach 1:
The patent describes a single VAD system that can perform multiple vascular functions including blood collection, fluid delivery, and patient monitoring through different accessories that attach to the same catheter line, eliminating the need for multiple separate VADs and needle insertions
2Ease of operation
If a standard VAD is used for blood draw, then vascular access is obtained, but obstructions such as thrombus, valves, and fibrin sheath prevent successful blood collection
Solution Approach 1:
The patent describes a guidewire with variable stiffness characteristics that can be dynamically deployed to navigate through obstructions like thrombus, valves, and fibrin sheath, and then retracted when no longer needed, allowing the system to adapt to different vascular conditions and overcome barriers that would prevent standard VAD functionality
3Reliability
If a guidewire is deployed through the VAD to overcome obstructions, then blood draw and other functions are enabled, but the guidewire exposes the operator to blood and other fluids
Solution Approach 1:
The patent describes a retractable guidewire mechanism that allows the guidewire to be pulled back into the VAD catheter after use, removing the exposed guidewire from the field and eliminating the blood exposure hazard to operators while maintaining the vascular access capability
4Object-generated harmful factors
If the guidewire is made retractable to reduce blood exposure, then operator safety is improved, but the mechanism for retracting the guidewire increases device complexity
Solution Approach 1:
The patent describes a guidewire that is nested within the VAD catheter when not in use, with the guidewire fitting inside the catheter lumen. This nesting arrangement allows the guidewire to be stored and retracted within the existing catheter structure without requiring separate external containment mechanisms, thereby reducing overall device 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
Enables needle-free delivery and monitoring within the vascular system, reducing trauma and overcoming obstructions, thus facilitating multiple vascular functions without the need for repeated needle insertions.
Implementation Method 1
The retraction mechanism may include one or more wheels that engage the exterior surface to compress the tube
Implementation Method 2
the guidewire may be deployable in response to pressure, proximal to the lumen, from the source of pressurized fluid
Data Source
AI summary
A system for accessing a patient's vascular system may have a tube with a wall that defines an exterior surface and lumen with a proximal end and a distal end, and a guidewire that is deployable, by sliding distally, from a retracted position in which the guidewire resides in the lumen, to a deployed position in which the guidewire extends beyond the distal end. The system may further have a retraction mechanism that can be actuated to retract the guidewire from the deployed position to the retracted position, or a protective shield that can be actuated to extend distally from the distal end of the tube to cover the guidewire in the deployed position.