Vascular Access Probe Assembly for Single-Handed Patency Checks
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Solution Overview
Problem
The patency of intravenous (IV) devices, such as vascular access devices (VADs), can be compromised during prolonged use, leading to blockages and the need for additional interventions, which increases patient trauma and medical issues.
Innovation Solution
An IV device assembly with a probe mechanism that includes a support member and translation handle, allowing for periodic patency checks without removing the device from the patient's blood vessel, featuring a collapsible sleeve and support member to maintain rigidity and facilitate single-handed operation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If a catheter is advanced through a sheath using conventional techniques, then the catheter can be positioned in the target location, but the operator requires two hands (one to hold the catheter and another to manipulate the sheath), increasing procedural complexity and reducing efficiency
Solution Approach 1:
The catheter is nested within the sheath, with the catheter's proximal end positioned within the sheath's lumen. This nested configuration allows the catheter to be advanced through the sheath without requiring separate manipulation of each component, enabling single-handed operation while maintaining a relatively simple overall structure.
Solution Approach 2:
A support member is introduced as an intermediary element that extends through both the sheath and the catheter. This support member facilitates the advancement process by providing a stable core around which the catheter and sheath are configured, allowing the operator to manipulate the assembly as a single unit with one hand.
2Measurement precision
If the catheter tip is positioned at the target location, then the therapeutic or diagnostic function can be performed, but the operator loses control of the catheter's proximal end, reducing precision and safety
Solution Approach 1:
The support member serves as an intermediary that maintains a fixed spatial relationship between the catheter's proximal end (within the sheath) and its distal tip (at the target location). This intermediary structure ensures that when the operator manipulates the proximal end, the distal tip follows a predictable path to the target, maintaining both positioning accuracy and control.
Solution Approach 2:
The support member is pre-positioned within the sheath and catheter assembly before the catheter is advanced to the target location. This preliminary positioning establishes a predetermined geometric relationship that guides the catheter tip to the correct target while maintaining operator control over the proximal end throughout the advancement process.
3Adaptability or versatility
If the sheath is removed after catheter placement, then the catheter can be accessed for therapy or diagnostics, but the catheter cannot be easily repositioned or removed, reducing versatility
Solution Approach 1:
The support member is designed with dynamic characteristics that allow it to be manipulated through the sheath and catheter assembly. The support member can be advanced, withdrawn, or repositioned within the assembly, enabling the catheter to be repositioned or removed from the sheath without requiring complex manipulation techniques, thus enhancing versatility while maintaining reasonable design simplicity.
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2A~2B
Figure 3
AI summary
An IV device assembly may include a lumen forming a fluidic channel within the IV device assembly. The lumen may be fluidically coupled to a vascular access device (VAD) coupler via a funnel coupler, and an IV device assembly coupler at a proximal end of the lumen. The IV device assembly may also include one or more of the following: a collapsible sleeve formed coaxially around a first portion of the lumen and mechanically coupled to the funnel coupler, a probe formed along a second portion of the lumen within the collapsible sleeve and into the VAD coupler, a translation handle that translates the probe out of a distal end of the VAD coupler, and a fixed grip formed around the lumen to maintain a position of the IV device assembly relative to the translation handle.