Claims
- 1. A flexible guide tube which guides an endoscope or a therapeutic device into an abdominal cavity through the mouth and stomach to conduct an observation or a therapeutic treatment in the abdominal cavity, the guide tube comprising:
an insertion section which has a distal end, a peripheral section, and a central axis, and which is capable of being inserted into a body through the mouth; and two expandable and shrinkable balloons arranged in the vicinity of the distal end at a predetermined distance from each other in the axial direction on the periphery of the insertion section, wherein the predetermined distance is preferably set to 3 to 8 mm, and the length of the insertion section is preferably set to about 600 to 1000 mm.
- 2. The guide tube according to claim 1, wherein the outer diameter of the insertion section is preferably equal to or smaller than about 20 mm.
- 3. The guide tube according to claim 1, wherein the insertion section can be bent in at least one direction within a plane passing through the central axis thereof.
- 4. The guide tube according to claim 3, further comprising:
a proximal end arranged on the outside of the body; and an operating handle, which is arranged at the proximal end, to bend the insertion section.
- 5. The guide tube according to claim 1, further comprising:
a proximal end arranged on the outside of the body, wherein in the insertion section, the flexibility of a portion close to the distal end is higher than that of a portion close to the proximal end.
- 6. The guide tube according to claim 5, wherein the insertion section has a proximal end made of a material different from that of the distal end.
- 7. The guide tube according to claim 4, further comprising:
a driving wire which has a distal end fixed in the vicinity of the distal end of the insertion section and a proximal end connected to the operating handle, wherein the insertion section can be bent by controlling the operating handle.
- 8. The guide tube according to claim 3, wherein the insertion section has:
a wall section restricting an inner bore, through which the endoscope or therapeutic device is inserted; a bending section which is arranged in an area along the axial direction of the wall section and whose flexibility is higher than that of the other portion; and a reinforcing member embedded in at least the bending section in the wall section.
- 9. The guide tube according to claim 3, wherein the insertion section has:
a wall section defining an inner bore, through which the endoscope or therapeutic device is inserted; a plurality of slits which are arranged in at least one area along the axial direction of the wall section and which extend on the circumference of the wall section; and a film which covers the slits.
- 10. The guide tube according to claim 1, wherein the outer diameter of each balloon is preferably equal to or larger than 30 mm upon expansion.
- 11. The guide tube according to claim 1, wherein at least one portion of the insertion section is transparent.
- 12. The guide tube according to claim 11, wherein one portion of the insertion section is transparent and the other portion thereof is made of a material different from that of the one portion.
- 13. A flexible guide tube which guides an endoscope or a therapeutic device into an abdominal cavity through the mouth and stomach to conduct an observation or a therapeutic treatment in the abdominal cavity, the guide tube comprising:
an insertion section which has a distal end and which is capable of being inserted into a body through the mouth, wherein each of the endoscope and the therapeutic device has a bending function, and a portion close to the distal end of the insertion section is flexible so that the endoscope or the therapeutic device can exhibit the bending function.
- 14. The guide tube according to claim 13, further comprising:
two expandable and shrinkable balloons arranged in the vicinity of the distal end of the insertion section at a predetermined distance from each other.
- 15. The guide tube according to claim 14,
wherein the length of the insertion section is 600 to 1000 mm, and the predetermined distance is 3 to 8 mm.
- 16. The guide tube according to claim 13, wherein the outer diameter of the insertion section is preferably equal to or smaller than about 20 mm.
- 17. The guide tube according to claim 13, wherein at least one portion of the insertion section is transparent.
- 18. The guide tube according to claim 17, wherein one portion of the insertion section is transparent and the other portion thereof is made of a material different from that of the one portion.
- 19. A flexible guide tube to guide an endoscope or a therapeutic device into a body cavity through the mouth, the guide tube comprising:
an insertion section which can be inserted into a body through the mouth, the insertion section having a distal end arranged in the body and at least one lumen, through which the endoscope or therapeutic device can be inserted; a proximal end which is connected to the insertion section and is arranged on the outside of the body; a shaft which is arranged in the vicinity of the distal end in the direction perpendicular to the direction in which the longitudinal axis of the insertion section extends; a curved needle which is rotatably attached to the shaft and which has an engaging portion capable of engaging a suture therewith; and driving force transmitting member which has one end connected to the curved needle and the other end arranged at the proximal end, wherein the distal end is capable of being fixed to a required portion in the body cavity to suture tissue by operating the driving force transmitting member on the outside of the body.
- 20. The guide tube according to claim 19, further comprising:
at least one grasping means arranged closer to the proximal end than the curved needle.
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/365,267, filed Mar. 18, 2002.
Provisional Applications (1)
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Number |
Date |
Country |
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60365267 |
Mar 2002 |
US |