The disclosure relates to the technical field of medical equipment, in particular to a bendable catheter.
In recent years, interventional operation has rapidly emerged and promoted due to less damage to a human body and a short operation time. As auxiliary equipment for the interventional operation, catheters are mainly used to establish a passage between human blood vessels and the external so as to deliver diagnostic and/or therapeutic devices.
In order to adapt to individual differences in a human physiological anatomical structure, bendable catheters have been widely used. The bendable catheter includes a bendable section that is arranged at a distal end of a tube body of the catheter. A handle of the catheter is operated to drive a traction wire connected to the bendable section to axially move so that the distal end of the tube body is repeatedly bent at different angles until a bending angle accords with specific physiological structure characteristics of lumens of the human body. The bending angle is then locked, the distal end of the tube body is aligned to an inlet of a target lumen (such as a certain blood vessel), and the diagnostic and/or therapeutic device is delivered to the target lumen through the tube body.
Referring to
The disclosure provides a bendable catheter, which can prevent a traction wire from being severely bent or broken near a proximal end of a threading tube to ensure smooth implementation of a bend adjusting function of the bendable catheter.
In order to achieve the above objective, a bendable catheter is provided and includes a tube body and a traction member. The tube body includes a bendable section arranged at a distal end of the tube body. The traction member includes a traction wire, a threading tube, a protective casing, and a clamping tube. The traction wire has a distal end connected to the bendable section, a proximal end wrapped and fixed within the clamping tube, and a remainder which is sequentially threaded through the threading tube and the protective casing in a direction from the distal end of the tube body to a proximal end of the tube body. The proximal end of the threading tube is relatively fixed with a distal end of the protective casing without a gap in axial directions of the threading tube and the protective casing. A distal end of the clamping tube is movably threaded in the protective casing. The clamping tube is operable to move in the protective casing to drive the traction wire to move in the protective casing and the threading tube, so as to bend or straighten the bendable section.
In an implementation, the proximal end of the threading tube and the distal end of the protective casing are in abutting joint, or the proximal end of the threading tube is threaded in the distal end of the protective casing.
In an implementation, the protective casing includes an inclined section, a transition section, and a straight section connected in sequence. The transition section is smoothly connected with the inclined section and the straight section. The inclined section is relatively fixed with the proximal end of the threading tube. The proximal end of the clamping tube is movably threaded in the straight section.
In an implementation, an inside diameter of the protective casing is 0.1 mm to 0.3 mm greater than an outside diameter of the clamping tube, and is 0.3 mm to 0.6 mm greater than a diameter of the traction wire.
In an implementation, a length of the protective casing is greater than a distance that the traction wire moves to drive the bendable section to switch between a straight state and a state with a maximum bending angle.
In an implementation, the proximal end of the threading tube extends out of the tube body, and a remainder thereof is embedded in a wall of the tube body.
In an implementation, the bendable catheter further includes a bend adjusting handle. The bend adjusting handle is connected to the proximal end of the tube body as well as the proximal end of the clamping tube, and is configured to control the clamping tube to move in the protective casing.
In an implementation, the bend adjusting handle includes a fixing base, a drive mechanism, and a drive control mechanism. The proximal end of the tube body is threaded and fixed in the fixing base. The protective casing is fixed relative to the fixing base. The clamping tube is connected to the drive mechanism. The drive control mechanism is connected to the drive mechanism and configured to control the drive mechanism to move relative to the fixing base. The drive mechanism is configured to move to drive the clamping tube to move in the protective casing.
In an implementation, the drive mechanism includes a slide block and a fixed block fixed to the slide block. The clamping tube is fixed to the fixed block. The slide block defines a threaded groove on a surface of the slide block. The drive control mechanism includes a rotary sleeve. The rotary sleeve is provided with a thread engaged with the threaded groove on an inside of the rotary sleeve. The rotary sleeve is rotated to drive the slide block to move relative to the fixing base.
In an implementation, the length of the protective casing is greater than a maximum stroke of the slide block.
In an implementation, the fixing base defines an axial slot axially extended along the fixing base. The slide block is movably disposed in the axial slot. The rotary sleeve is configured to rotate to drive the slide block to move along the axial slot.
In an implementation, the proximal end of the tube body is embedded in the fixing base. A central axis of the tube body coincides with a central axis of the fixing base. The fixing base defines an inclined slot. The inclined slot has one end extended to the tube body and the other end extended to the axial slot, and the protective casing is fixed in the inclined slot.
The bendable catheter is provided. The clamping tube is configured to wrap and fix the traction wire. The protective casing is connected with the threading tube and the clamping tube. There is no gap, in axial directions of the threading tube and the protective casing, between the proximal end of the threading tube and the distal end of the protective casing. The distal end of the clamping tube is movably threaded in the protective casing, so that a part, between the threading tube and the clamping tube, of the traction wire is threaded in the protective casing. In the process of bending or straightening the bendable section of the tube body, the clamping tube drives the traction wire to move in the protective casing and the threading tube, so that the part, between the threading tube and the clamping tube, of the traction wire is remained in the protective casing. An inner cavity of the protective casing limits a degree of bending deformation of the traction wire, and can prevent the traction wire from being severely bent or broken near the proximal end of the threading tube, thereby ensuring smooth implementation of the bend adjusting function of the bendable catheter.
In order to describe the technical solutions in this implementations of the disclosure or a related art more clearly, the drawings required to be used in descriptions about the implementations or the related art will be simply introduced below. It is apparent that the drawings in the following descriptions are only some implementations of the disclosure. Those of ordinary skill in the art may further obtain other drawings according to these drawings without creative work.
The technical solutions in this implementations of the disclosure will be described below in combination with the drawings in this implementations of the disclosure. It is apparent that the described implementations are not all, but part of implementations of the disclosure. All other implementations obtained by those of ordinary skill in the art on the basis of the implementations in the disclosure without creative work shall fall within the scope of protection of the disclosure.
In order to describe structures of a bend adjusting handle and a bendable catheter more clearly, terms “proximal end” and “distal end” are defined here as commonly used terms in the field of interventional medical treatment. Specifically, “distal end” indicates one end away from an operator during a surgical operation, and “proximal end” indicates one end close to the operator during the surgical operation.
Unless otherwise defined, all technical and scientific terms used in the disclosure have the same meaning as commonly understood by those skilled in the art. The terms used in the specification of the disclosure herein are only for the purpose of describing the specific implementations, and are not intended to limit the disclosure.
Referring to
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Further, in some implementations of the disclosure, the distal end of the tube body 10 is a curved end with smooth surface, namely a Tip end. A radiopaque developing ring (not illustrated), such as a tantalum ring, is arranged close to the Tip end, so that whether the distal end of the tube body 100 reaches a specified position can be accurately known through a developing apparatus.
Referring to
The traction wire 31 is used to drive the bendable section 11 to be bent or straightened. The traction wire 31 has a certain strength. In this implementation, the traction wire 31 is a single wire. Alternatively, the traction wire 31 is a strand of wires. The cross section of the traction wire 31 may be in various shapes such as a circle, which is not limited herein. On the basis that the traction wire 31 has a certain strength to implement a traction function, the radial section of the traction wire 31 can be as small as possible. Therefore, a preferred range of a diameter of the traction wire 31 is 0.05 mm to 0.25 mm. The traction wire 31 may be made of a metal material, such as stainless steel, tungsten alloy, cobalt-chromium alloy, or nickel-titanium alloy, may also be made of high polymer with a certain strength, which is not limited herein. In this implementation, the traction wire 31 is preferably a stainless steel wire with a diameter of 0.25 mm.
An anchoring ring 35 is arranged at one end, connected to the bendable section 11, of the traction wire 31. The anchoring ring 35 is a ring part sleeved on the bendable section 11. In other words, the distal end of the traction wire 31 is connected to the bendable section 11 via the anchoring ring 35. In this implementation, the anchoring ring 35 is sleeved on a position, corresponding to the bendable section 11, of the inner film 10a. A contact area between the traction member 30 and the bendable section 11 of the tube body 10 is increased by means of the anchoring ring 35, so that traction on bending of the bendable section 11 may be better achieved. The anchoring ring 35 may be made of a metal material or a high-polymer material. In this implementation, the anchoring ring 35 is made of metal such as SUS304 stainless steel. A connection mode of the traction wire 31 and the anchoring ring 35 includes, but is not limited to, bonding, welding, hot melting, knotting, and the like.
Most of the traction wire 31 is movably threaded in the threading tube 32 so that a traction direction of the traction wire 31 is limited by the threading tube 32, and the traction wire 31 is protected by the threading tube 32. Most of the threading tube 32 is embedded in a wall of the tube body 10, and extends along an axial direction of the tube body 10, so that the traction wire 31 threaded in the threading tube 32 may move along the axial direction of the tube body 10 when moving in the threading tube 32. The proximal end of the threading tube 32 extends out of the wall of the tube body 10 at a specific angle, so that the traction wire 31 threaded therein can penetrate out the threading tube 32 at a specific angle. In this implementation, referring to
A proximal end of the clamping tube 34 is connected to the bend adjusting handle 20, so that the proximal end of the traction wire 31 is connected to the bend adjusting handle 20 through the clamping tube 34, thereby avoiding a risk of breakage when the traction wire 31 is directly connected to the bend adjusting handle 20 due to thinness of the traction wire 31, and increasing a connection strength between the traction wire 31 and the bend adjusting handle 20. In addition, a distal end of the clamping tube 34 is movably threaded in the protective casing 33, that is, the bend adjusting handle 20 drives the clamping tube 34 and the traction wire 31 to move to adjust a bending state of the bendable section 11, and thus the distal end of the clamping tube 34 is remained in the protective casing 33. It is noted that, the proximal end of the threading tube 32 is relatively fixed with the distal end of the protective casing 33 without a gap in axial directions of the threading tube and the protective casing. “Relatively fixed” means the proximal end of the threading tube 32 is fixed with the distal end of the protective casing 33 are fixed by welding, bonding or the like, or through a fastener. Alternatively, the threading tube 32 and the protective casing 33 may also be respectively fixed, to prevent the proximal end of the threading tube 32 and the distal end of the protective casing 33 from relative movement.
In this implementation, the proximal end of the threading tube 32 is wrapped and fixed in the distal end of the protective casing 33. It can be understood that the proximal end of the threading tube 32 and the distal end of the protective casing 33 may also be in abutting joint. In other words, a tip of the distal end of the protective casing 33 and a tip of the proximal end of the threading tube 31 are in end-to-end joint and fixed together. Alternatively, the protective casing 33 may be formed by extending from the proximal end of the threading tube 32, that is, the protective casing 33 and the threading tube 32 are of an integral structure.
Since the distal end of the clamping tube 34 is movably threaded in the threading tube 33, an inside diameter of the protective casing 33 cannot hinder smooth movement of the clamping tube 34 in the protective casing 33, and a small gap is required to be reserved between the protective casing 33 and the traction wire 31 to reduce radial moving space of the traction wire 31 so as to limit a degree of bending of the traction wire 31 and prevent the traction wire from excessive bending. Preferably, the inside diameter of the protective casing 33 is 0.1 mm to 0.3 mm greater than an outside diameter of the clamping tube 34, and the inside diameter of the protective casing 33 is 0.3 mm to 0.6 mm greater than the diameter of the traction wire 31.
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The drive mechanism includes a slide block 221 and a fixed block 222 fixed to the slide block 221. In this implementation, the slide block 221 defines a groove. The fixed block 222 is inserted and fixed in the groove. The proximal end of the clamping tube 34 is fixed to the fixed block 222. In this implementation, the clamping tube 34 and the fixed block 222 are preferably fixed by means of welding. It can be understood that in other implementations of the disclosure, the clamping tube 34 and the fixed block 222 may also be fixed by means such as gluing. The slide block 221 is movably disposed in the axial slot 213. The slide block 221 defines a threaded groove 2211 on a surface of the slide block 221. The drive control mechanism includes a rotary sleeve 231. The rotary sleeve 231 is provided with a thread 2311 engaged with the threaded groove 2211 on an inside of the rotary sleeve. With engagement between the thread 2311 and the threaded groove 2211, the rotary sleeve 231 may be rotated to drive the slide block 221 to move in the axial slot 213 along the axial direction of the fixing base 21. In the disclosure, the clamping tube 34 is fixed to the fixed block 222, the slide block 221 moves in the axial slot 213 can drive the clamping tube 34 to move in the protective casing 33, and the traction wire 31 fixed to the clamping tube 34 then pull the bendable section 11 to be bent or straightened. Further, the drive control mechanism further includes a rotary grip 232 on the peripheral surface of a proximal end of the rotary sleeve 231. Anti-slip structures are arranged on the outer surface of the rotary grip 232, so that the rotary sleeve 231 can be rotated more easily by rotating the rotary grip 232.
Further, a Luer taper 40 is fixed at the proximal end of the rotary sleeve 231, the tube body 10 extends through the fixing base 21 to be connected to the Luer taper 40, so that a diagnostic and/or therapeutic device may enter the target lumen of the human body through the Luer taper 40 and the tube body 10, sequentially.
Further, the bend adjusting handle 20 further includes a housing 50 that protects structures therein. The fixing base 21 and the drive mechanism are both accommodated in the housing 50, the distal end of the rotary sleeve 231 is accommodated in the housing 50, and is rotationally connected to the housing 50, and the rotary grip 232 is arranged outside the housing 50 to facilitate a rotating operation. In an implementation, a clamp ring 51 is arranged on an inner wall of a proximal end of the housing 50, a clamp groove 2312 is circularly formed on the peripheral surface of the rotary sleeve 231, and the clamp ring 51 is clamped in the clamp groove 2312, so that a rotational connection between the rotary sleeve 231 and the housing 50 is achieved. Further, in this implementation, the housing 50 includes two parts that are detachably connected, so that the fixing base 21, the drive mechanism, and the like may be fixed in the housing 50 more easily.
Further, in the disclosure, the bend adjusting handle 20 further includes an end cap 60 fixed to a distal end of the housing 50, and the tube body 10 extends through the end cap 60 to enter the fixing base 21.
The bendable catheter 100 is provided. The clamping tube 34 is configured to wrap and fix the traction wire 31, and the protective casing 33 is connected with the threading tube 32 and the clamping tube 34. The proximal end of the threading tube 32 is relatively fixed with the distal end of the protective casing 33 without a gap in axial directions of the threading tube and the protective casing. The distal end of the clamping tube 34 is movably threaded in the protective casing 33, so that a part, between the threading tube 32 and the clamping tube 34, of the traction wire 31 is threaded in the protective casing 34. In the process of bending or straightening the bendable section 11 of the tube body 10, the clamping tube 34 drives the traction wire 31 to move in the protective casing 33 and the threading tube 32, so that the part, between the threading tube 32 and the clamping tube 34, of the traction wire 31 is remained in the protective casing 33. The inner cavity of the protective casing 33 limits the degree of bending deformation of the traction wire 31, and can prevent the traction wire 31 from being severely bent or broken near the proximal end of the threading tube 32, thereby ensuring smooth implementation of the bend adjusting function of the bendable catheter 100.
The above disclosure is only the preferred implementation of the disclosure and, of course, is not intended to limit the scope of the claims of the disclosure. Those of ordinary skill in the art can understand all or part of the process for implementing the foregoing implementations. Equivalent variations made according to the claims of the disclosure shall also fall within the scope covered by the disclosure.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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201811653891.5 | Dec 2018 | CN | national |
201822272379.8 | Dec 2018 | CN | national |
This application is a continuation-in-part of International Application No. PCT/CN2019/106738, filed on Sep. 19, 2019, which claims priority to Chinese Patent Application No. 201811653891.5, filed on Dec. 29, 2018, and Chinese Patent Application No. 201822272379.8, filed on Dec. 29, 2018, the disclosures of which are hereby incorporated by reference in their entireties.
Number | Date | Country | |
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Parent | PCT/CN2019/106738 | Sep 2019 | US |
Child | 17355666 | US |