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Surgical assistive device for mechanical thrombectomy in stroke patients

Company: Penn State College of Medicine 2

Major(s):
Primary: BME
Secondary: ME

Non-Disclosure Agreement: NO

Intellectual Property: YES

Mechanical thrombectomy is a minimally invasive surgical procedure for removing blood clots in vessels in the brain. The procedure is performed shortly after a patient suffers an ischemic stroke. Using real-time x-ray guidance, small catheter tubes are navigated through the body to targeted vessels in the brain, and miniature devices are then deployed through the tube to grab the clot. The procedures are very delicate operations, and multiple challenges have been identified by a clinical mentor at Penn State Hershey Medical Center. For example, re-insertion of a guidewire into the catheter tube can be quite time consuming and tedious. A successful device used in the operating room would enable patients to be treated for their stroke faster, improving quality of life after stroke. After gaining an understanding of the clinical needs, students will engineer and design these miniature surgical devices, prototype them, and get feedback from clinical expert(s).