WireCleat – Fully safe Seldinger Technique device for prevention of guide wire retention

Unmet Need

Catheters are widely used in many medical disciplines as a means of gaining easy access to internal body cavities like blood vessels or hollow organs. The Seldinger technique is a common method for percutaneous catheterization that requires insertion and removal of a guide wire. In the current standard of care procedure, the clinician must manipulate the guide wire by hand while simultaneously inserting the catheter. However, due to the difficulty of this procedure, the guide wire can be accidentally advanced too far into the body to be retrieved, resulting in guide wire retention. Guide wire retention occurs in 1 out of 3291 procedures, with a 20% mortality rate in those cases. There is a need for a mechanism that prevents guide wire retention in the body during catheterization that easily integrates into current procedures.

Technology

Duke inventors have developed a cost-effective and easy to use cleat attachment for Luer-lock catheters that prevents guidewire retention. This is intended to be used by cardiologists or other physicians using the Seldinger technique to place catheters and prevent guide wire retention. Specifically, the WireCleat mechanically locks the end of the guidewire into place to prevent over-insertion and subsequent retention that can occur with existing standard of care catheter insertion kits. This has been demonstrated with a prototype cleat design that attaches directly to a catheter insertion kit that fastens the guidewire in place as the physician maneuvers and inserts the catheter. This invention provides a first-of-its-kind prevention mechanism for wire retention that directly integrates with the current standard system used for catheterization.

Advantages

• Cost-effective
• Simple fabrication
• Eliminates wire retention and subsequent complications
• Reduced human error