Vena Cava Filter Catheter Clot Capture Mechanism
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current vena cava filters lack a device that combines the function of a central access catheter and a removable filter, and there is no effective solution for managing captured clots during filter removal, which can lead to clot extrusion and fragmentation, posing a risk to patients.
Innovation Solution
A vena cava filter catheter system that includes a catheter with a lumen and at least one biocompatible wire that changes geometry from an elongate state for delivery to a tortuous state for deployment, allowing it to occupy the luminal diameter of the inferior vena cava, and can be used as a stand-alone or secondary filter to capture thrombi released from a primary filter during removal.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If a primary vena cava filter is removed, then the filter can be retrieved for patient comfort and reduced complication risk, but captured clots may be extruded or fragmented causing harm
Solution Approach 1:
A secondary filter is introduced as an intermediary device to capture clots that are extruded or fragmented from the primary filter during removal. The secondary filter acts as a safety net between the primary filter and the bloodstream, preventing harmful clot particles from entering circulation while allowing the primary filter to be safely retrieved.
Solution Approach 2:
The secondary filter is deployed in advance before the primary filter is removed. This preliminary placement ensures that any clots released during the retrieval process are immediately captured, rather than waiting for clot extrusion to occur and then attempting to manage it.
2Device complexity
If a secondary filter is deployed through the lumen of a catheter, then a compact delivery system is achieved, but the wire must transform from elongate to tortuous geometry
Solution Approach 1:
The wire is designed with dynamic geometric properties, allowing it to transition from an elongate configuration during delivery to a tortuous configuration upon deployment. This dynamic shape transformation enables the wire to pass through the narrow catheter lumen in a compact form and then expand into the desired three-dimensional filter structure at the target site.
Solution Approach 2:
The secondary filter is nested within the lumen of the catheter during delivery, similar to a nested doll structure. The filter's wire framework is compressed into an elongate form that fits within the catheter, and upon deployment, it expands outward to form the tortuous filter geometry in the vena cava.
Data Source
AI summary
A vena cava filter catheter includes a catheter having a lumen disposed therethrough and at least one strand of biocompatible wire. The at least one strand has a first state in which the at least one strand has an elongate geometry suitable for traversing the lumen of the catheter and a second state in which the at least one strand assumes a pre-set geometry in which the at least one strand assumes a tortuous configuration adapted to occupy a space approximating a luminal diameter of an inferior vena cava.