Self-Expanding Vascular Implant with Electrolytic Detachment
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current implants for treating arteriovenous malformations and aneurysms face challenges such as inadequate adaptability to vessel diameter, risk of being washed out, and difficulties in controlled detachment, leading to potential trauma and impaired blood flow.
Innovation Solution
A tubular braid implant with electrolytically corrodible sections and connected filament ends at the proximal end, allowing for controlled detachment and expansion to match the vessel diameter, preventing filament protrusion and ensuring atraumatic placement.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Manufacturing precision
If the implant is made with loose filament ends to simplify manufacturing, then manufacturing precision is improved, but the implant causes trauma to the vessel wall due to protruding filament ends
Solution Approach 1:
A holding element acts as an intermediary component during implantation. This holding element temporarily secures the filament ends in a controlled manner, preventing them from protruding and causing trauma to the vessel wall, while allowing the implant to be manufactured with standard braiding processes without requiring precision-cut filament ends
2Ease of operation
If the implant is designed to automatically expand to vessel diameter without a balloon, then ease of operation is improved, but controlled detachment becomes difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The mechanical balloon expansion system is replaced with a self-expanding implant design that uses the elastic recovery of the shape memory alloy. Detachment control is achieved through an electrolytic mechanism where applying an electrical potential causes localized corrosion of a holding element, allowing controlled release of the implant from the delivery catheter without requiring complex mechanical detachment mechanisms
3Reliability
If the implant uses a wide-meshed stent structure to prevent spiral washout, then reliability is improved, but blood flow into the aneurysm is not sufficiently blocked
Solution Approach 1:
The implant uses a dense braid structure with small mesh size throughout the main body to effectively block blood flow into the aneurysm, while the holding element at the proximal end provides localized structural support and spiral retention. This combination achieves both sufficient aneurysm occlusion and reliable spiral retention without requiring a wide-meshed stent structure
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
The implant effectively seals off arteriovenous malformations, adapts to vessel diameter, and ensures safe and controlled detachment, reducing trauma and improving blood flow by preventing filament protrusion and facilitating atraumatic placement.
Implementation Method 1
a section of the holding element being designed to be electrolytically corrodible, so that the proximal end of the implant is released after electrolytic dissolution of the section
Implementation Method 2
The implant is deformable in such a way that it assumes a shape of reduced diameter in an insertion catheter and expands at the site of implantation to adapt to the blood vessel diameter
Data Source
Figure 1~3
Figure 4
Figure 5a~5b
AI summary
The invention relates to a combination of an implant (1) for blood vessels, in particular for influencing blood flow in the area of arteriovenous malformations, and an introducer wire (14), wherein the implant (1) is coupled to the introducer wire (14) via a retaining element (15), wherein the implant (1) has a wall made of individual filaments (2) which are combined to form a substantially tubular mesh extending axially from proximal to distal, wherein the individual filaments (2) intersect each other and form intersection points (3), the implant (1) is deformable in such a way that it assumes a shape with a reduced diameter in an introducer catheter and expands at the site of implantation, adapting to the blood vessel diameter, and the filament ends are joined together at least in pairs and permanently connected to each other at the proximal and/or distal end of the mesh.wherein the interconnected filament ends are atraumatically shaped, and wherein connecting elements (11) are attached to the proximal filament ends, extending in a proximal direction and having thickenings (6) at their ends which are positively engaged by the retaining element (15) in peripherally arranged recesses, wherein the implant (1) is released when a tube-like cover (13) which is positively engaged over the retaining element (15) with fitted connecting elements (11) is retracted or the retaining element (15) exits the catheter, and wherein the retaining element (15) is rotationally symmetrical and the peripherally arranged recesses form a circumferential groove. According to an alternative embodiment, a section (16) of the retaining element (15) is designed to be electrolytically corrodible.