Vascular Implant Loop Ends for Vessel Safety
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional self-expanding braided stents cause damage to blood vessels due to sharp wire ends and are prone to deformation and lumen collapse due to insufficient structural stability.
Innovation Solution
A vascular implant with a tubular main segment braided from interlaced wires, featuring looped-back rings and non-invasive joint portions at the ends, made from materials like platinum and nickel-titanium alloys, providing a radial support force and reducing the risk of damage with smooth end closures and enhanced stability.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If conventional self-expanding braided stents are made from many wires with sharp ends, then the stent can be delivered minimally invasively, but the sharp wire ends cause damage to blood vessels
Solution Approach 1:
The wire ends are pre-formed into looped-back rings with smooth surfaces before delivery, eliminating sharp ends that could damage blood vessels. This preliminary shaping ensures that when the stent is deployed, the ends are already in a safe, non-injurious configuration.
Solution Approach 2:
The wire ends are transformed from sharp linear tips into curved looped-back ring structures. This curvature eliminates sharp edges and creates a smooth, rounded surface that is safer for contact with blood vessel walls while maintaining the stent's structural integrity.
2Ease of operation
If the wires in the stent are made loose to facilitate delivery, then the stent can be compressed for delivery, but the stent becomes insufficient in structural stability and prone to deformation and lumen collapse
Solution Approach 1:
The stent is divided into distinct functional zones: looped-back ring structures at the ends for safety and flexibility, and a middle section with controlled wire interlacing angles for structural stability. This segmentation allows different parts to optimize for their specific functions.
Solution Approach 2:
Different sections of the stent have different structural properties: the end portions have looped-back rings with specific geometric characteristics for flexibility and safety, while the middle section has controlled wire interlacing angles (θ) to provide enhanced radial support and prevent lumen collapse, creating locally optimized structural quality.
3Strength
If the wire interlacing angle is increased to provide greater radial support force, then the stent can prevent lumen collapse, but the radial support force may become excessive and cause damage to the blood vessel
Solution Approach 1:
The wire interlacing angle θ is specifically controlled in the middle section of the stent to provide appropriate radial support, while the end portions have looped-back rings that distribute forces more gently. This local differentiation ensures sufficient support where needed without excessive force that could damage the vessel.
Solution Approach 2:
The looped-back ring structures are pre-formed at the wire ends to create smooth, rounded terminations that distribute contact forces over a larger area and reduce peak stresses on the blood vessel wall, preventing damage even when radial support forces are applied.
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 vascular implant minimizes damage to blood vessels, maintains structural integrity, and provides effective therapeutic support with improved radiopacity and adjustable radial force, enabling safer and more effective treatment of vascular diseases.
Implementation Method 1
The core is made of one of platinum, iridium, gold, silver, tantalum and tungsten or an alloy thereof
Implementation Method 2
the jacket is made of one or more of a nickel-titanium alloy, nitinol
Implementation Method 3
the jacket is made of one or more of a nickel-titanium alloy, nitinol
Data Source
AI summary
A vascular implant and a medical device. The vascular implant includes a tubular implant main segment (100, 400) braided from two or more interlaced wires (130, 132, 134, 136, 138) and having a first end (120, 420) and a second end (110, 410), which are located at two ends of g an axis of the implant main segment. The first end (120, 420) includes a plurality of looped-back rings (122, 124, 422, 424). The second end (110) includes a plurality of first joint portions (112), each of which is a non-invasive joint portion formed by joining at least two of the wires (130, 132, 134, 136, 138). At least one of the two or more wires (130, 132, 134, 136, 138) includes core and a jacket surrounding the core. The ends of the vascular implant will cause less damage to the wall of a blood vessel, and the implant provides improved stability and radiopacity.