Wire Guide Identification Section for Medical Procedures
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional wire guides used in intracorporeal procedures face challenges in distinguishing between primary and supplemental wire guides during interventional procedures, leading to potential complications and procedural failures due to their similarity in appearance and feel.
Innovation Solution
A wire guide with a distinct identification section featuring a marker, such as a sleeve with visual and tactile markers, to differentiate it from other wire guides, allowing for easy and reliable identification.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If conventional floppy wire guides are used for navigation of tortuous vessels, then flexibility and ease of introduction are improved, but the ability to provide adequate support and straighten extremely tortuous vessels deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The wire guide is divided into distinct segments with different mechanical properties: a flexible distal portion for navigation and a more rigid proximal portion for support. This segmentation allows the wire guide to simultaneously navigate tortuous vessels while providing adequate support for catheter devices.
Solution Approach 2:
Different portions of the wire guide have different local properties - the distal portion is made more flexible for easy navigation through tortuous vessels, while the proximal portion is made stiffer to provide support for catheter devices and straighten extreme tortuosity. This local differentiation resolves the contradiction between flexibility and support capability.
2Strength
If heavy-duty wire guides are used to provide support and straighten tortuous vessels, then support capability and rigidity are improved, but the risk of causing injury to the vessel during introduction worsens
Solution Approach 1:
The wire guide is segmented into a flexible distal portion for safe vessel navigation and a stiffer proximal portion for providing support. The flexible distal portion minimizes vessel injury risk during introduction while the stiffer proximal portion provides the necessary support capability.
Solution Approach 2:
The wire guide has different local mechanical properties along its length - the distal portion is softer and more flexible to reduce vessel injury risk, while the proximal portion is stiffer to provide support. This local quality differentiation resolves the contradiction between support capability and vessel safety.
3Strength
If multiple wire guides are used to assist during interventional procedures, then support and tracking capability are improved, but the difficulty of distinguishing between wire guides worsens
Solution Approach 1:
The wire guide incorporates a colored band or colored proximal portion that provides visual differentiation from other wire guides. This color coding system allows operators to easily distinguish between multiple wire guides during complex interventional procedures, resolving the identification difficulty while maintaining the benefits of using multiple guides for improved tracking capability.
Data Source
AI summary
A wire guide includes identification features for distinguishing between other introduced wire guides. The wire guide includes a main body having a proximal portion. An identification section is formed at the proximal portion and includes a marker for identifying the wire guide. Preferably, the marker is a surface that can be identified visually, tactilely or visually and tactilely.