CATHETER FOR INCREASED INTRATHECAL DRUG DISPERSION
FIG7 is a perspective view depicting a catheter in accordance with an embodiment of the disclosure dispensing medicament within a von Kármán vortex street
Referring to FIG7, in intrathecal drug delivery, positioning of the distal portion 312 perpendicular to the pulsatile flow of cerebrospinal fluid, can be used to generate a series of counter-rotating vortices to promote local mixing of the medicament with the cerebrospinal fluid along the flow direction, thereby carrying the medicament away from the relatively slow-moving fluid in the boundary layer of the catheter 300. Further, in some embodiments, the medicament exit 308 can be positioned within the subarachnoid space, such that the pulsatile flow of cerebrospinal fluid can act to push slow-moving or stagnant medicament out of the medicament exit 308 to further improve mixing.
perspective view
308
medicament exit
300
catheter
7
after approximately
312
distal portion
['1. An intrathecal drug delivery system (100) configured to improve dispersion of medicament with cerebrospinal fluid in a subarachnoid space of a patient, the intrathecal drug delivery system (100) comprising: an implantable medical pump (102); and a catheter (300, 400, 500, 600, 700, 800) having a wall (304, 404, 508, 608, 708, 808) defining a lumen extending between a proximal end in fluid communication with the implantable medical pump (102) and structure defining a medicament exit (308, 408, 506, 606, 706, 806) positionable within the subarachnoid space of the patient, the wall (304, 404, 508, 608, 708, 808) further defining at least one feature (310, 410A, 410B, 410C, 510, 610, 710, 810) configured to generate vortices within the cerebrospinal fluid.', '2. The intrathecal drug delivery system (100) of claim 1, wherein the at least one feature is a curve (310) defined by the catheter wall (304) configured to orient a distal portion (312) of the catheter (300) at an angle with respect to a proximal portion of the catheter.']