Patent Application
20150282790
Physicians have become increasingly willing to perform more aggressive interventional and therapeutic endoscopic procedures including, for example, removal of larger lesions (e.g., cancerous masses), tunneling under a mucosal layer of the gastro-intestional (GI) tract to treat tissues below the mucosa, full thickness removal of tissue, inserting devices through the GI tract and then penetrating the GI organ to treat tissue outside the GI tract, and endoscopic treatment/repair of post-surgical issues (e.g., post-surgical leaks, breakdown of surgical staple lines, anastomotic leaks). These procedures may increase the risk of perforating the wall of the GI tract, or may require closure of the GI tract wall as part of the procedure. Endoscopic closure reduces cost and may reduce patients' trauma, pain and inconvenience. However, current tissue closure devices may be insufficient to close certain perforations.
The present disclosure is directed to a tissue closure device. The tissue closure device comprises a clip including a plurality of arms extending from proximal ends connected to one another to distal ends, the clip being biased toward an open configuration in which the distal ends extend away from a longitudinal axis of the clip, the arms being held in a closed configuration in which the arms are moved toward the longitudinal axis via an interior surface of a working channel through which the clip is passed until the clip is moved distally past a distal end of the working channel and permitted to revert to the biased open configuration so that the distal ends are positioned about a portion of tissue surrounding a tissue opening to be closed and a locking element movable over the arms to lock the clip in the closed configuration in which distal ends of the arms are drawn toward one another to grip tissue therebetween.
The present disclosure may be further understood with reference to the following description and the appended drawings, wherein like elements are referred to with the same reference numerals. Exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure describe endoscopic devices. In particular, the exemplary embodiments describe endoscopic clipping devices for tissue closure. The tissue clipping devices of the present disclosure may be passed through a working channel of an endoscopic inserted into a GI tract and deployed from a distal end thereof to clip target tissue. Although exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure specifically describe a device for treating the GI tract, it will be understood by those of skill in the art that devices of the present disclosure may be used to clip tissue in any of a variety of types and locations of tissue. It should also be noted that the terms “proximal” and “distal” as used herein refer to a direction toward (proximal) and away from (distal) a user of the device.
As shown in
The clip 102 may be actuated and deployed in the body via, for example, a pusher or other actuating element moving the device 100 distally through the working channel until the clip 102 reaches the target site. The pusher may extend longitudinally from a proximal end connected to a handle portion accessible to a user, when the clip 102 is inserted into the body, to a distal end connected to the clip 102. For example, arms 104 of the clip 102 may be formed of a suture or other flexible material such as, a wire which is connected to a distal end of a pusher. The arms 102 of the clip 102 may, for example, be wound about a distal portion of the pusher. It will be understood by those of skill in the art, however, that the arms 104 may be connected to the pusher in any of a variety of ways. In another exemplary embodiment the arms 102 may be adhered to the pusher, clamped to the pusher or connected to the pusher via a frangible link designed to fail when a force thereon exceeds a predetermined threshold level. Once distal ends of the arms 104 have been positioned over the target tissue and locked in the closed configuration via the locking element 106, the clip 102 may be deployed in the body in the locked, closed configuration. For example, a cutting mechanism included therein may cut a proximal portion of the arms 104 connected to the pusher, to deploy the clip 102 in the body. In another embodiment, the user may draw the pusher proximally until the frangible link connecting the pusher and the clip 102 is broken. In yet another embodiment, the pusher may be rotated about a longitudinal axis thereof, via the handle portion, to disengage clip arms 104 wound about the distal end thereof. Although the device 100 is described as being inserted into the body via a working channel of an endoscope, it will be understood by those of skill in the art that the device 100 is not required to be inserted into the body via an endoscope. For example, the device 100, may be inserted into the body via an introducer tube or through the lumen of any other suitable device.
Each of the arms 104 extends from a proximal end 108 connected to the proximal ends 108 of the other arms 104 to a distal end 110. In the open configuration, the distal ends 110 of the arms 104 are separated from one another so that the distal ends 110 may be positioned about target tissue to be gripped (e.g., a tissue opening 10 to be closed). For example, the distal ends 110 may be positioned along edges 12 of the tissue opening 10. In the closed configuration, the distal ends 110 are drawn toward one another to draw edges 12 of the tissue opening 10 together, thereby closing the wound. The distal ends 110 may include a tissue engaging feature 112 enhancing the gripping engagement between the arms 104 and the tissue. The engaging features 112 may extend laterally inward relative to the arms 104 such that, when the arms 104 are in the closed configuration, each of the engaging features 112 extends toward the other arms 104. In one exemplary embodiment the engaging features 112 may be, for example, T-shaped elements transverse to a length of the arms 104 increasing an area over which the arms 104 engage gripped tissue. In another exemplary embodiment, the engaging features 112 may comprise tines extending radially inward from the distal end 110 to penetrate clipped tissue. It will be understood by those of skill in the art, however, that the arms 104 may include any of a variety of engaging features 112 so long as the arms 104 are capable of gripping and remaining coupled to target tissue to maintain the gripped tissue in a desired spatial relationship (e.g., to close the tissue opening 10 until natural healing processes have connected the edges of the opening 10). The arms 104 may be metal tines biased toward the open configuration. However, as would be understood by those skilled in the art, the arms 104 maybe formed of any suitable biocompatible and/or biodegradable materials.
The locking element 106 is slidably mounted over the clip 102 so that it may be longitudinally moved over the arms 104 from a proximal position in which the arms 104 are free to move to the open configuration and a distal position in which the arms 104 are constrained in the closed configuration. That is, once the clip 102 has been positioned over a target site such as the tissue opening 10, the locking element 106 is moved distally over the arms 104 to draw the arms 104 together into the closed configuration, closing the tissue opening 10. After the clip 102 has been moved to the closed configuration gripping tissue as desired, the locking element 106 is locked over the arms 104 to lock the clip 102 in the closed configuration. The locking element 106 may comprise, for example, a crimp which may be crushed over the arms 104, a locking ring locked over the arms 104 via a friction fit, a zip tie cinched over the arms 104 or a suture tied over the arms 104. It will be understood by those of skill in the art, however, that the locking element 106 may include any mechanism capable of maintaining the arms 104 over the gripped tissue in the closed configuration. In another embodiment, the clip 102 may be moved to the closed configuration by moving the clip 102 proximally relative to the working channel through which it has been inserted. Once the arms 104 of the clip 102 have been moved to the closed configuration, the locking element 106 may be moved over the arms 104 to lock the arms 104 in the closed configuration.
According to an exemplary surgical technique using the device 100, the device 100 is inserted to a target site within the body through the working channel of an endoscope inserted, for example, along a tortuous path through a body lumen accessed via a naturally occurring body orifice. The clip 102 is inserted into the body in the closed configuration, the arms 104 of the clip 102 held in the closed configuration via either the locking element 106 or through contact with an interior surface of the working channel. Upon reaching the target site, the arms 104 are moved distally out of the distal end of the working channel permitting the arms 104 to move to the open configuration under their natural bias. If the locking element 106 has been used to maintain the arms 104 in the closed configuration, the locking element 106 is moved proximally to free the arms 104 to move to the open configuration under their natural bias. As shown in
Although the exemplary embodiment of the clip 102 has been shown and described as being closed via the locking element 106, it will be understood by those of skill in the art that the clip 102 may alternatively be closed by drawing the clip 102 proximally relative to the working channel. As the arms 104 are drawn into the working channel, the arms 104 will be drawn toward one another. Once the arms 104 have been drawn closed, the locking element 106 may be slid over the arms 104 to be locked thereover.
As shown in
An exemplary surgical technique of the device 200 is substantially similar to the surgical technique of the device 100. A distal end of the tube 25 of the device 200 is inserted through a tissue opening 20 to be closed so that the clip 202 is on a distal side of the tissue opening 20 in the closed configuration. When the tube 25 is positioned as desired, the clip 202 is moved distally out of the tube 25 permitting the arms 204 to move to the open configuration under their natural bias.
At this point, the clip 202 is drawn proximally to drive the engaging features 212 at the distal ends 210 into the target tissue (e.g., edges 22 of the tissue opening 20) so that the engaging features 212 penetrate and are locked into the target tissue. The clip 202 is then drawn proximally back into the tube 25 to draw the arms 204 together into the closed configuration drawing the edges 22 together to close the opening 20. Once the clip 202 has been moved into the closed configuration, the locking element 206 is slid distally over the arms 204 to lock the clip 202 in the closed configuration, as shown in
It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications and variations may be made in the structure and the methodology of the present disclosure, without departing from the spirit or scope of the disclosure. Thus, it is intended that the present disclosure cover modifications and variations of the disclosure provided that they come within the scope of the appended claims and their equivalents.
The present disclosure claims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 61/976,861 filed on Apr. 8, 2014; the disclosure of which is incorporated herewith by reference.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 61976861 | Apr 2014 | US |
