The present invention relates to a medical system.
There is a known medical system in which a raising base is disposed, in a pivotable manner, at a distal-end portion in a lumen that passes through an overtube in a longitudinal direction thereof, and a viewing-field direction of an imaging catheter introduced into the lumen is switched between a direct-viewing direction and a lateral-viewing direction by pivoting the raising base by pulling a wire attached to the raising base (for example, see Patent Literature 1).
{PTL1} PCT International Publication No. WO 2007/063904
An aspect of the present invention is a medical system including: an overtube that has a first lumen that extends in a longitudinal direction toward a distal end from a proximal end, a second lumen that branches off from the distal end of the first lumen and opens at a distal-end surface, and that is in communication with the first lumen via a first entrance, and a third lumen that opens at an outer circumferential surface and that is in communication with the first lumen via a second entrance; and an elongated attachment that is inserted, together with an elongated medical device, into the first lumen of the overtube from the proximal-end side, and that has a lateral cross-sectional shape that makes it possible to selectively blocks at least a portion of either the first entrance or the second entrance as a result of the position thereof about a center axis of the first lumen being changed and to guide the medical device to the other entrance.
A medical system 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.
As shown in
As shown in
One of or a plurality of the lumens 2 formed of the first lumen 6, the second lumen 7, and the third lumen 8 may be provided in the overtube 3. Although
The first lumen 6, the second lumen 7, and the third lumen 8 each has a circular lateral cross-sectional shape. The second lumen 7 has an inner diameter that is smaller than the inner diameter of the first lumen 6, and has a large enough size to allow the insertion of the medical device 4. As shown in
The third lumen 8 also has an inner diameter that is smaller than the inner diameter of the first lumen 6, and has a large enough size to allow the insertion of the medical device 4. As shown in
At a position at which the second lumen 7 and the third lumen 8 branch off from the first lumen 6, a step difference due to the difference in the inner diameters of the first lumen 6 and those of the second lumen 7 and the third lumen 8 is formed. This step difference forms an abutting surface 9 against which a distal end of the attachment 5 that has been inserted into the first lumen 6 is abutted. In addition, in the longitudinal direction, it is preferable that the abutting surface 9 be positioned in alignment with the distal-end edge 8ad of the second entrance 8a. In addition, it is preferable that the abutting surface 9 be positioned at the first entrance 7a in the longitudinal direction of the overtube 3.
As shown in
The medical device 4 is, for example, an imaging catheter, an endoscope, or a treatment tool such as gripping forceps.
As shown in
The attachment 5 includes a distal-end portion 12 that has an arc-like lateral cross-sectional shape as a result of a portion thereof in a circumferential direction being cut out over a predetermined length from the distal end thereof.
As shown in
In addition, as shown in
Specifically, in this state, a state in which the phase of the attachment 5 about the center axis with respect to the first lumen 6 is fixed at a first phase is maintained. In this embodiment, the distal end of the attachment 5 is disposed on a third-lumen-8 side at this first phase so that the first entrance 7a to the second lumen 7 is opened, whereas at least a portion of the second entrance 8a to the third lumen 8 is blocked.
In addition, it is possible to move the attachment 5 forward in the first lumen 6 by moving the protrusions 13 in the grooves 10 in the longitudinal direction by rotating the attachment 5 about the center axis of the first lumen 6 so as to switch the positions of the two protrusions 13 with respect to the two grooves 10 and by pressing the attachment 5 toward the distal end in this state. By doing so, it is possible to maintain the phase of the attachment 5 about the center axis with respect to the first lumen 6 at a second phase.
In this embodiment, the distal end of the attachment 5 is disposed on a second-lumen-7 side at this second phase so that the second entrance 8a to the third lumen 8 is opened, whereas at least a portion of the first entrance 7a to the second lumen 7 is blocked.
Note that it is possible to appropriately select the combination of the protrusions 13 and the grooves 10 for achieving the first phase or the second phase, for example, by marking a surface of the attachment 5 exposed outside the body in a state in which the protrusions 13 have not been inserted into the grooves 10.
The operation of the medical system 1 according to this embodiment, thus configured, will be described below.
In order to treat an affected portion in a body cavity by using the medical system 1 according to this embodiment, the overtube 3 is inserted into the body cavity, and the medical device 4, to which the attachment 5 is attached, is inserted into the first lumen 6 from the proximal-end surface of the overtube 3 exposed outside the body.
At this time, as shown in
As a result of inserting the attachment 5 into the first lumen 6 in the state in which the protrusions 13 are positioned with respect to the grooves 10 so as to achieve the first phase of the attachment 5 with respect to the first lumen 6, the attachment 5 and the medical device 4 are moved forward in the first lumen 6 while the first phase is maintained due to the engagement between the grooves 10 and the protrusions 13 in the circumferential direction. Then, as shown in
By doing so, the medical device 4 is easily guided into the second lumen 7, as shown in
On the other hand, as a result of inserting the attachment 5 into the first lumen 6 in the state in which the protrusions 13 are positioned with respect to the grooves 10 so as to achieve the second phase of the attachment 5 with respect to the first lumen 6, the attachment 5 and the medical device 4 are moved forward in the first lumen 6 while the second phase is maintained due to the engagement between the grooves 10 and the protrusions 13 in the circumferential direction. Then, when the distal end of the attachment 5 abuts against the abutting surface 9, the distal-end portion 12 of the attachment 5 blocks the first entrance 7a to the second lumen 7 and the second entrance 8a to the third lumen 8 is opened.
By doing so the medical device 4 is easily guided into the third lumen 8, as shown in
In addition, in the case in which an affected portion that is laterally positioned with respect to the overtube 3 needs to be observed or treated in the state in which the affected portion positioned in front of the overtube 3 is being observed or treated by making the medical device 4 protrude from the distal-end surface of the overtube 3, first, the medical device 4 is moved back with respect to the attachment 5, and the medical device 4 is disposed farther on the proximal-end side than the distal end of the attachment 5 is. Subsequently, the attachment 5 is moved back from the first lumen 6 toward the proximal end, thus releasing the engagement between the protrusions 13 and the grooves 10.
Then, the attachment 5 is disposed at the second phase by being rotated about the center axis of the first lumen 6 with respect to the overtube 3. By doing so, the position of the distal-end portion 12 of the attachment 5 in the first lumen 6 is switched due to the rotation of the attachment 5. In this state, as a result of moving the attachment 5 forward again in the state in which the protrusions 13 and the grooves 10 are engaged with each other and abutting the distal end thereof against the abutting surface 9, the first entrance 7a to the second lumen 7 is blocked and the second entrance 8a to the third lumen 8 is opened. Subsequently, the medical device 4 is easily guided into the third lumen 8 by moving the medical device 4 forward with respect to the attachment 5, and thus, it is possible to make the medical device 4 protrude from the outer circumferential surface of the overtube 3.
As has been described above, with the medical system 1 according to this embodiment, it is not necessary to provide a raising base and a wire for pivoting the raising base in the overtube 3, and it is possible to easily switch between forward and sideward protruding of the medical device 4 with respect to the overtube 3 by merely rotating the attachment 5 about the center axis of the first lumen 6. In other words, there is an advantage in that it is possible, with a simple structure, to selectively make the medical device 4 protrude either forward in the longitudinal direction of the overtube 3 or in the direction that intersects the longitudinal direction.
In addition, with this embodiment, by inserting the protrusions 13 of the attachment 5 into the grooves 10 provided in the inner surface of the first lumen 6, it is possible to maintain the attachment 5 so as not to rotate with respect to the first lumen 6 about the center axis thereof. By doing so, there is an advantage in that it is possible to maintain the two phases in which the medical device 4 is made to protrude forward and sideward with respect to the overtube 3 so that the respective phases are not changed.
Also, in order to switch between the first phase and the second phase, it suffices to move back the attachment 5 to the position at which the engagement between the protrusions 13 and the grooves 10 is released; therefore, it is not necessary to pull out, by a large amount, the medical device 4 and the attachment 5 from the first lumen 6, and thus, there is an advantage in that it is possible to change the direction in which observation or treatment is performed in a simple manner within a short period of time.
In addition, in this embodiment, because the distal end of the attachment 5 is inserted until the distal end abuts against the abutting surface 9, it is possible to reliably realize the state in which the medical device 4 is made to protrude forward or sideward with respect to the overtube 3 without requiring an operator to pay attention to the amount by which the attachment 5 is inserted. Note that, because it is also possible to achieve the state in which the medical device 4 is made to protrude forward or sideward with respect to the overtube 3, without providing the abutting surface 9, by inserting the attachment 5 to the vicinity of the position at which the second lumen 7 and the third lumen 8 branch off from the first lumen 6, the abutting surface 9 need not be provided.
In addition, in this embodiment, as the attachment 5, an example having a tube shape in which only the distal-end portion 12 is cut out has been described. Although it is preferable to employ a tube shape because doing so makes it possible to increase the torsional rigidity, an attachment 5 that has a certain arc-like lateral cross-sectional shape over the entire length thereof may be employed so long as it is possible to ensure an enough torsional rigidity.
In addition, as shown in
In addition, in this embodiment, although the two grooves 10 and the two protrusions 13 respectively engage with each other, alternatively, a single protrusion 13 may be provided. In addition, although the grooves 10 are provided at the two locations at 180°-intervals in the circumferential direction, three or more grooves 10 may be provided at predetermined intervals.
In addition, although the embodiment has been described in terms of an example in which the single lumen 2 is provided, alternatively, as shown in
By doing so, it is possible to easily switch between a first state in which the two treatment tools 42 are made to protrude at appropriate positions in the viewing field of the imaging catheter 41 protruded from the distal-end surface of the overtube 3, as shown in
In addition, although the lumen from which the medical device 4 is made to protrude is switched between the lumens 7 and 8 by rotating the attachment 5 about the center axis of the first lumen 6 by 180°, alternatively, the switch may be made by means of a rotation by an arbitrary angle other than 180°.
An aspect of the present invention is a medical system including: an overtube that has a first lumen that extends in a longitudinal direction toward a distal end from a proximal end, a second lumen that branches off from the distal end of the first lumen and opens at a distal-end surface, and that is in communication with the first lumen via a first entrance, and a third lumen that opens at an outer circumferential surface and that is in communication with the first lumen via a second entrance; and an elongated attachment that is inserted, together with an elongated medical device, into the first lumen of the overtube from the proximal-end side, and that has a lateral cross-sectional shape that makes it possible to selectively blocks at least a portion of either the first entrance or the second entrance as a result of the position thereof about a center axis of the first lumen being changed and to guide the medical device to the other entrance.
With this aspect, the medical device is inserted, together with the attachment, into the first lumen from the proximal-end side of the overtube, at least a portion of the first entrance to the second lumen is blocked with the attachment, and thus, it is possible to guide the medical device into the third lumen. In addition, as a result of changing the position of the attachment about the center axis of the first lumen in the first lumen, at least a portion of the second entrance to the third lumen is blocked with the attachment, and thus, it is possible to guide the medical device into the second lumen.
Specifically, by merely changing the position of the attachment about the center axis of the first lumen by operating the elongated attachment on the proximal-end side of the overtube, it is possible to insert the medical device into either the second lumen or the third lumen. Therefore, it is not necessary to provide a raising base in the overtube in a pivotable manner, or to handle a wire for pivoting the raising base, and it is possible, with a simple structure, to selectively make a medical device protrude either forward with respect to a longitudinal direction of an overtube or in a direction that intersects the longitudinal direction.
The above-described aspect may include, at a position at which the second lumen and the third lumen branch off from the first lumen, an abutting surface against which a distal end of the attachment is abutted.
By doing so, as a result of abutting the distal end of the attachment, which is inserted from the proximal end of the first lumen, against the abutting surface provided at the position at which the second lumen and the third lumen branch off from the first lumen, the attachment is disposed in the state in which the attachment is positioned with respect to the overtube, and thus, it is possible to reliably block at least a portion of the first entrance to the second lumen or the second entrance to the third lumen and to reliably guide the medical device into the other lumen.
In addition with the above-described aspect, the position of a distal-end edge of the second entrance and the position of the abutting surface may be aligned in the longitudinal direction.
In addition, with the above-described aspect, the attachment may have, at least in a distal-end portion in the longitudinal direction, a substantially arc-like lateral cross-sectional shape that allows insertion into a gap between an inner surface of the first lumen and an outer surface of the medical device in a state in which the medical device is biased in a radial direction in the first lumen.
By doing so, it is possible to easily switch the position of the distal end of the medical device in the first lumen to the radial direction by changing the position of the distal-end portion of the attachment, which has a substantially arc-like lateral cross-sectional shape, in the first lumen by rotating the attachment about the center axis of the first lumen.
In addition, with the above-described aspect, the attachment may be formed in a tube shape having an inner hole into which the medical device can be inserted, and, at least in a distal-end portion in the longitudinal direction, the inner hole is eccentrically disposed in a radial direction with respect to a substantially circular external shape.
By doing so, it is possible to easily switch the position of the distal end of the medical device in the first lumen to the radial direction by changing the position of the inner hole provided at the distal end of the attachment by changing the position thereof in the first lumen by rotating the attachment about the center axis of the first lumen.
In addition, with the above-described aspect, the overtube may include two or more slits that extend along the first lumen in the longitudinal direction from the opening at the proximal end thereof, that extend radially outward from the inner surface of the first lumen, and that are disposed with spacings therebetween in a circumferential direction, and the attachment may include protrusions that extend radially outward from an outer circumferential surface of the attachment and that are capable of being inserted into the slits.
By doing so, it is possible to maintain the phase of the attachment about the center axis of the first lumen in a predetermined state by inserting the attachment into the first lumen and by inserting the protrusion of the attachment into any one of the slits provided in the inner surface of the first lumen. In addition, it is possible to maintain the phase of the attachment about the center axis of the first lumen in another state by inserting the protrusion of the attachment into another slit.
Specifically, it is possible to maintain the respective states by switching between a phase at which the first entrance to the second lumen is blocked with the attachment and a phase at which the second entrance to the third lumen is blocked with the attachment by merely changing the slit into which the protrusion is inserted.
This is a continuation of International Application PCT/JP2017/017255 which is hereby incorporated by reference herein in its entirety.
Number | Date | Country | |
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Parent | PCT/JP2017/017255 | May 2017 | US |
Child | 16532572 | US |