Percutaneous Vein Clip Deployment for Low-Trauma Vessel Closure
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing treatments for venous insufficiency, such as endo-venous ablation, cause significant pain and bruising, and invasive procedures like vein stripping and high-ligation have high recurrence rates and are traumatic.
Innovation Solution
A device for percutaneously delivering a clip into a vein using a cannula with a sharpened tip, a pusher member, and a release mechanism to compress and deploy tines for closing the vein, allowing minimally invasive treatment with reduced post-procedural pain.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If endo-venous ablation is used to treat venous insufficiency, then the treatment effectiveness is improved, but post-procedural pain and bruising increase significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the harmful thermal energy destruction mechanism from the treatment and replaces it with a mechanical clip-based occlusion system. The clip device is introduced percutaneously and deployed within the vein to mechanically close the lumen, eliminating the need for thermal ablation that causes tissue destruction, pain, and bruising.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces a mechanical clip as an intermediary device that mediates between the treatment goal (vein closure) and the patient's tissue. The clip serves as a physical barrier to stop blood flow without requiring thermal energy transfer, thereby avoiding the harmful effects of thermal ablation on surrounding tissues.
2Reliability
If vein stripping or high-ligation is performed to treat varicose veins, then the immediate closure is achieved, but the procedure becomes highly traumatic with high recurrence rates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces the crude mechanical systems of vein stripping (physical removal) and high-ligation (surgical tying) with a refined mechanical clip device. This clip can be precisely deployed percutaneously to occlude the vein at the desired location, providing effective closure with minimal trauma compared to traditional surgical approaches.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent applies local quality by concentrating the occlusion effect precisely at the target site within the vein. The clip is deployed locally to close the lumen at a specific location, allowing the rest of the vein to remain intact and functional, thereby reducing overall trauma and recurrence compared to extensive stripping procedures.
3Object-affected harmful factors
If compression therapy and leg elevation are used for venous insufficiency, then the treatment is noninvasive, but patient compliance decreases due to lifestyle restrictions
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the treatment approach by providing a one-time procedural intervention that addresses the underlying venous insufficiency, rather than requiring continuous daily compliance with compression therapy. The clip device is deployed in a single procedure, after which patients can resume normal activities without ongoing restrictive measures.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent performs preliminary action by addressing the venous insufficiency through a definitive procedural treatment (clip occlusion) that prevents future complications. This eliminates the need for ongoing conservative management, allowing patients to maintain normal lifestyles without continuous compression garments or elevation requirements.
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 device provides a minimally invasive method to close veins, reducing pain and bruising, and offers a less traumatic alternative to existing treatments.
Implementation Method 1
a pusher member fixed to the inner member comprising a first end positioned adjacent the inner member proximal end and a second end slidably received within the lumen of the cannula such that distal advancement of the inner member relative to the outer member causes the second to at least partially expose the clip from the tip
Implementation Method 2
a clip loaded in the lumen, the clip compressible between a relaxed state in which a plurality of tines of the clip are shaped to engage and close a tubular structure within a patient's body, and a stressed state in which the tines are compressed to allow the clip to be loaded into the lumen
Data Source
AI summary
Apparatus and methods are provided for closing a tubular structure within a patient's body, e.g., a varicose vein. In one example, the apparatus includes an outer member including a cannula and an inner member carrying a pusher member slidably received within a lumen of the cannula. The cannula is inserted into the patient's body into-and-through the vein, the cannula carrying a clip within the lumen including proximal and distal tines in a stressed state and a filament coupled to one of the proximal tines. The inner member is advanced relative to the outer member to advance the pusher member to expose the distal tines from the distal tip beyond the tubular structure, whereupon the distal tines elastically deform towards a relaxed state at least partially around the tubular structure. A release member coupled to the filament is disengaged to disengage the filament from the proximal tine, and the cannula is withdrawn such that the proximal tines are released and elastically deform to at least partially surround and close the tubular structure.