Medical Design Briefs: 2022 Technology Leaders - 13

filar configurations allow for joining dissimilar
single strand alloys together in one
package. This flexibility in alloy selection
is perfectly suited for applications like
thermocouples - microcables that need
a high strength member for load bearing
or assembly operations and electrochemical
process cells.
Multi-Channel Transmission Cables
Multi-channel transmission (MCT)
cables are a further milestone toward
intelligent catheters. MCT represents a
significant improvement on existing
shielded twisted pair, coaxial, and flexible
printed circuit technology and
enables new data-rich signals to be utilized
in therapies such as intracardiac
echocardiogram, ultrasound endoscopy,
and intervascular ultrasound (IVUS).
Existing catheters use shielded twisted
pair or coaxial constructs to support signals
along the device. This established
technology has driven advances in
catheter design and facilitated the delivery
of many essential interventional,
intervascular diagnostics, and therapies.
However, the progress toward miniaturization
and flexibility has been hampered
by the standard coaxial approach
which comprises a core conductor, insulation
and a shield wire. Physics and
electromagnetics have prevented the
development of smaller cables and has
inhibited catheter flexibility.
In contrast, the new MCT cable design
includes four times the amount of signal
lines per individual cable, while at the
same time preserving signal to noise performance.
This is possible thanks to the
company's patented shielding/grounding
design. Whereas the traditional
catheter requires two coaxial cables to
run in parallel carrying two individual
signal streams, MCT enables multiples of
four signals to be brought together in
one cable, thereby significantly increasing
the signal capacity per unit diameter.
Early prototypes have achieved a 32 percent
reduction in the size of the cable, a
critical factor in the attainment of future
procedures within narrower vessels. The
MCT approach also provides a greater
degree of flexibility compared to the existing
approaches. This flexibility promises
major advances in the scope of medical
procedures, especially within endoscopy.
Overall, this innovation addresses the
Medical Design Briefs 2022 Technology Leaders
mutually exclusive needs of small size and
signal integrity simultaneously. This in
turn unlocks opportunities for catheter
manufacturers to deliver valuable, previously
unrealized options, to clinicians.
As the requirement for smaller and
smaller devices increases for a wider variety
of therapies, so the need for innovations
like the MCT solution become paramount
to enable them. It is essential to
continue to push the boundaries of what is
possible on this journey to miniaturization,
all the while unlocking opportunities
for catheter manufacturers to deliver
improved solutions.
Looking Ahead
The pace of change in the medical
device sector is increasing continuously.
An example of this is the development of
mapping catheters, which are used during
cardiac and electrophysiological therapies.
Mapping catheters are an innovation that
help physicians to discover and evaluate
the electroanatomical layout of the heart
and surrounding area. Previously believed
to be impossible, catheter-based solutions
are now available to accurately pinpoint
problems within blood vessels and the
heart. Interventional procedures utilizing
intelligent catheters rather than high-risk
surgery will allow medical teams all over
the world to decrease the risk to all
patients, decrease recovery times, and to
develop new therapies to heal diseases that
until now have been impossible to treat.
As the demand for complex catheterbased
procedures increases, the need for
innovations such as the multi-filar cables
and the multi-channel transmission cables
become paramount to enable them.
Solutions such as these are continually
pushing the boundaries of what is possible
with minimally invasive devices and intelligent
catheters, unlocking opportunities
for OEMs to deliver improved patient outcomes,
quicker recovery times, and lower
costs of care.
These solutions will be key to expanding
the capabilities of medical teams around
the world, helping reach maximum levels
of medical quality and patient care, even
in areas where, traditionally, medical
resources have been scarce.
This article was written by Kevin LaDow,
Medical Product Manager USA West, Junkosha
USA Inc., Irvine, CA. For more information,
visit http://info.hotims.com/82319-343.
www.medicaldesignbriefs.com
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