JP7571474B2 - catheter - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a catheter capable of discharging a medicinal liquid.

When administering a medicinal solution, saline solution, or bodily fluids (hereinafter referred to as medicinal solutions, etc.) while checking an affected area inside the body using an image, a catheter may be passed through the lumen of an endoscope.
For example, Patent Document 1 describes a catheter that is capable of spraying a medicinal liquid or the like in any direction when the medicinal liquid or the like is administered into the body under an endoscope.
In particular, the catheter described in Patent Document 1 collide a medicinal liquid with a collision surface formed at the tip of the catheter tube, and supplies the medicinal liquid to the affected area through an opening formed at the tip of the tube.

JP 2003-290236 A

For example, it may be desirable to displace the lesion or its surroundings when the overall shape of the lesion cannot be ascertained.
However, the catheter described in Patent Document 1 only has an opening at the tip of the tube, making it difficult to appropriately press and displace the surrounding area of the lesion. Therefore, there is room for improvement in supporting the treatment of displacing the lesion or its surrounding area when appropriately imaging the overall shape and partial shape of the lesion with an endoscope.

The present invention was made in consideration of the above-mentioned problems, and the object of the present invention is to provide a catheter that can be appropriately displaced by applying a load to the lesion or its surrounding area.

The catheter of the present invention is a catheter that is passed through a lumen of an endoscope and is capable of discharging a medicinal liquid into the digestive tract, and includes a tube through which the medicinal liquid passes and a ball tip provided at the tip of the tube, and the ball tip has a through hole that allows the medicinal liquid that has passed through the tube to be discharged to the outside, and the ball tip has a spherical portion formed into a partial sphere and an insertion portion extending from the spherical portion and inserted into the tip of the tube, and is formed to be harder than the tube, and the through hole is formed across the spherical portion and the insertion portion. the insertion portion comprises an axial portion extending in the direction of insertion into the tube, and a large diameter portion provided at the insertion destination further from the axial portion and formed with a diameter larger than the outer diameter of at least a portion of the axial portion, a storage portion for storing adhesive is formed between the axial portion, the large diameter portion, the spherical portion, and the tube, and the storage portion is filled with the adhesive, and the axial portion is composed of a tapered portion whose diameter decreases toward the insertion destination, and a tubular portion extending parallel to the axial direction of the tube from the end of the tapered portion at the insertion destination to the large diameter portion .

The catheter of the present invention is equipped with a ball tip having a spherical portion, which allows for an appropriate load to be applied to the lesion or its surrounding area, displacing it and supporting efficient treatment.

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing a catheter according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view showing a ball tip attached to the distal end of a tube. 3 is an enlarged view of part III in FIG. 2, and is a cross-sectional view showing a state in which an adhesive is contained in a container. FIG. FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram showing a state in which a cleaning solution is administered through a lumen of an endoscope to remove mucus. FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing a state in which a catheter is pressing against healthy mucosa surrounding a lesion.

Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
The embodiment described below is merely an example for facilitating understanding of the present invention, and is not intended to limit the present invention. In other words, the shapes, dimensions, arrangements, and other aspects of the components described below may be modified or improved without departing from the spirit of the present invention, and the present invention naturally includes equivalents thereof.
In addition, in all drawings, similar components are given similar symbols and duplicated explanations are omitted as appropriate.

＜Overview＞
First, an overview of a catheter 1 according to this embodiment will be described mainly with reference to Figs. 1 to 3.
FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing a catheter 1 according to this embodiment, FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view showing a ball tip 2 attached to the tip of a tube 1c, and FIG. 3 is an enlarged view of part III in FIG. 2, showing a cross-sectional view showing the state in which adhesive 6 is contained in the containing section 5.

The catheter 1 according to this embodiment is passed through a lumen 10a of an endoscope 10 (see FIGS. 4 and 5) and is capable of discharging a medicinal liquid into the digestive tract 11 (see FIGS. 4 and 5).
As shown in FIG. 1, the catheter 1 includes a tube 1c through which a medicinal solution passes, and a ball tip 2 provided at a distal end 1e of the tube 1c.
As shown in FIG. 2, the ball tip 2 is formed with a through hole 2a through which the liquid medicine that has passed through the tube 1c can be discharged to the outside.
The ball tip 2 has a spherical portion 3 formed in a partially spherical shape and an insertion portion 4 extending from the spherical portion 3 and inserted into the tip portion 1e of the tube 1c, and is formed to be harder than the tube 1c. The through hole 2a is formed between the spherical portion 3 and the insertion portion 4.

The term "ejection" includes "ejection" which supplies a liquid, "spraying" which supplies a mist, and "dripping" which supplies a small amount at a time.
The tube 1c may be made only of resin or rubber, or may contain a metal material that enhances rigidity.
The ball tip 2 only needs to be formed to be harder than at least the tip portion 1e of the tube 1c.

According to the catheter 1 having the above configuration, since the ball tip 2 has the spherical portion 3, when pressing the lesion 11b or its surrounding area, the contact area is increased and no local load is applied. Therefore, the catheter 1 can apply an appropriate load to the lesion 11b or its surrounding area, supporting efficient treatment.
Then, the ball tip 2 is used to press the lesion 11b or its surrounding area, and while displacing it, a medicinal liquid is supplied, allowing the endoscope 10 to appropriately capture images of the overall and partial shapes of the lesion 11b.

<Configuration>
Next, the configuration of each part of the catheter 1 according to this embodiment will be described.
As shown in FIG. 1, the catheter 1 comprises, from the base end, a connector 1a, a handle 1b connected to the connector 1a and held by a user, a tube 1c extending a long distance from the handle 1b, and a ball tip 2 inserted into the tip end of the tube 1c.

The effective length of the catheter 1 according to this embodiment is, for example, approximately 2750 mm.
To the connector 1a, a syringe (not shown) that contains and can extrude a liquid medicine is connected in order to discharge the liquid medicine via the handle 1b, the tube 1c, and the ball tip 2.

The main material of the tube 1c may be a thermoplastic polymer material. Examples of the thermoplastic polymer material include polyimide (PI), polyamideimide (PAI), polyethylene terephthalate (PET), polyethylene (PE), polyamide (PA), polyamide elastomer (PAE), nylon elastomer such as polyether block amide (PEBA), polyurethane (PU), ethylene-vinyl acetate resin (EVA), polyvinyl chloride (PVC), or polypropylene (PP).

As described above, the ball tip 2 has a through hole 2a that allows the drug solution that has passed through the tube 1c to be discharged to the outside, and has a spherical portion 3 formed in a partially spherical shape, and an insertion portion 4 that extends from the spherical portion 3 and is inserted into the tip portion 1e of the tube 1c.

The ball tip 2 according to the present embodiment is made of stainless steel. The ball tip 2 may be made of any material other than stainless steel, such as nitinol or other metal materials, or resin materials, as long as it is harder than the tube 1c.
The maximum diameter of the spherical portion 3 of the ball tip 2 according to this embodiment is approximately 2.7 mm. The diameter of the lumen 10a of the endoscope 10 (see FIG. 4) through which the tube 1c and the ball tip 2 are passed is approximately 2.8 mm or more, which is larger than the maximum diameter of the spherical portion 3.

As shown in Figures 2 and 3, the insertion portion 4 comprises an axial portion 4a extending in the direction of insertion into the tube 1c, and a large diameter portion 4b that is provided at the insertion destination further than the axial portion 4a and has a diameter larger than the outer diameter of at least a portion of the axial portion 4a.
3, a housing portion 5 for housing an adhesive 6 is formed between the shaft portion 4a, the large diameter portion 4b, the spherical portion 3, and the tube 1c. The housing portion 5 is filled with the adhesive 6.

According to the above-mentioned configuration, the adhesive 6 can be stored in the storage portion 5 provided in the insertion portion 4 of the ball tip 2, and the contact area between the adhesive 6 and the shaft portion 4a, the large diameter portion 4b, the spherical portion 3, and the tube 1c can be suitably secured. Therefore, the bond between each portion via the adhesive 6 can be strengthened.
As long as the connection between these respective portions is strong, the insertion portion 4 does not necessarily have to include the large diameter portion 4b, and may be formed with only the straight cylindrical shaft portion 4a.

In particular, the large diameter portion 4b in this embodiment has a return portion 4e on its outer circumferential surface. The return portion 4e is composed of an enlarged diameter portion 4f that expands radially outward from the shaft portion 4a and abuts against the inner wall 1f of the tube 1c, and a reduced diameter portion 4g that reduces in diameter from the enlarged diameter portion 4f toward the end of the insertion destination.

With the large diameter portion 4b configured in this manner, the reduced diameter portion 4g of the turned portion 4e makes it easier to insert the ball tip 2 into the tube 1c from the insertion portion 4. Furthermore, the enlarged diameter portion 4f of the turned portion 4e abutting against the inner wall 1f of the tube 1c makes it difficult for the ball tip 2 to come out of the tube 1c.
If the insertion portion 4 of the ball tip 2 can be smoothly inserted into the tube 1c, the return portion 4e may not be provided on the large diameter portion 4b. In other words, for example, the large diameter portion 4b may be a straight cylinder with a rounded edge at the tip.

As shown in FIG. 3, the shaft portion 4a in this embodiment is composed of a tapered portion 4c that narrows in diameter toward the insertion point, and a cylindrical portion 4d that extends parallel to the axial direction of the tube 1c from the end of the tapered portion 4c that is the insertion point to the large diameter portion 4b.

According to the above configuration, in the accommodation portion 5 defined by a part of the circumferential surface of the shaft portion 4a, a region for accommodating the adhesive 6 can be secured radially wide on the radial outside of the cylindrical portion 4d.
Furthermore, the tapered portion 4c allows the adhesive to be accommodated over a wide range in the axial direction, and the radial gap between the inner wall 1f of the tube 1c and the insertion portion 4 can be narrowed as it approaches the end face 1d, thereby preventing the ball tip 2 from wobbling relative to the tube 1c.

In addition, because the shaft portion 4a is formed in this manner, for example, the adhesive 6 that is applied in large quantities to the cylindrical portion 4d before the ball tip 2 is inserted into the tube 1c can be stretched from the cylindrical portion 4d to the tapered portion 4c when the ball tip 2 is inserted into the tube 1c. This allows an appropriate amount of adhesive 6 to be stored in the area of the storage portion 5.

Specifically, the storage portion 5 is formed between the return portion 4 e and the spherical portion 3 .
With this configuration, the adhesive 6 is contained between the return portion 4e, which abuts the inner wall 1f of the tube 1c, and the spherical portion 3, thereby preventing the adhesive 6 from coming into contact with the inside of the tube 1c and the chemical solution passing through the through hole 2a of the tube 1c.

The spherical portion 3 according to this embodiment protrudes radially outward from the tube 1c. In particular, the portion of the spherical portion 3 that protrudes from the tube 1c is a partial sphere formed with a diameter larger than the outer diameter of the tube 1c when viewed from a direction perpendicular to the axial direction of the tube 1c.

According to the above-mentioned configuration, the spherical portion 3 protrudes beyond the tube 1c, so that the spherical portion 3 can be easily pressed against the diseased portion 11b or its surrounding area to displace it.
In particular, since the portion of the spherical portion 3 that protrudes from the tube 1c is a partial sphere formed with a diameter larger than the outer diameter of the tube 1c, the diseased area 11b or its surrounding area can be treated efficiently.

Specifically, the spherical portion 3 protruding from the tube 1c increases the contact area when pressing against the lesion 11b or its surrounding area, allowing for efficient treatment (displacing the lesion 11b or its surrounding area) without applying a local load. This feature of the spherical portion 3 is particularly effective when the overall shape of the lesion 11b cannot be seen with the endoscope 10 due to the folds 11c (see Figure 4) and it is necessary to displace the lesion 11b or its surrounding area.

The spherical portion 3 has an abutment surface 3a that is abutted against the end surface 1d of the tube 1c. The outer surface of the spherical portion 3 is formed continuously with respect to the outer surface of the tube 1c with the end surface 1d of the tube 1c abutting against the abutment surface 3a.

Here, the outer surface of the spherical portion 3 being "continuously formed" with respect to the outer surface of the tube 1c means that the portion of the outer surface of the spherical portion 3 that abuts against the radially outer edge of the end face 1d of the tube 1c (the radially outer edge of the abutment surface 3a) is in the vicinity of the radially outer edge of the end face 1d of the tube 1c and in a position facing the axial direction of the tube 1c. This includes cases where a slight gap is formed due to a fitting error or dimensional error between the tube 1c and the spherical portion 3, or a slight gap is formed by chamfering only one of the tube 1c or the spherical portion 3.
According to the above configuration, the outer surface of the spherical portion 3 is formed continuously with the outer surface of the tube 1c, thereby preventing foreign matter from entering between the tube 1c and the ball tip 2.

<How to use>
Next, a procedure for using the catheter 1 will be described with reference mainly to FIGS.
Fig. 4 is a schematic diagram showing a state in which a cleaning solution 7 is administered from a lumen 10a of an endoscope 10 to remove mucus (not shown). Fig. 5 is a schematic diagram showing a state in which the catheter 1 presses against healthy mucosa (the inner wall 11a of the digestive tract 11) around a lesion 11b.

(1) Removal of Mucus Before administering a medicinal liquid to the lesion 11 b, the surgeon removes mucus (not shown) from around the lesion 11 b. As shown in Fig. 4, the mucus is removed by ejecting a cleaning liquid 7 from the lumen 10 a of the endoscope 10 or by directly aspirating the cleaning liquid 7.
Alternatively, the catheter 1 may be protruded from the lumen 10a and the cleaning liquid 7 may be ejected or directly sucked from the through hole 2a of the ball tip 2 at the distal end of the catheter 1 to remove the mucus.
Alternatively, the ball tip 2 at the distal end of the catheter 1 may be used to gently rub the area around the lesion 11b to remove mucus.

(2) Securing a view of the lesion Next, the surgeon uses the endoscope 10 to image the periphery of the fold 11c in which the lesion 11b is formed. If the surgeon cannot confirm the overall shape of the lesion 11b, as shown in Fig. 5, the ball tip 2 at the tip of the catheter 1 is pressed against the fold 11c (healthy mucosa) of the digestive tract 11 to displace it, and an image of the lesion 11b is taken from the front. At this time, it is preferable to focus the camera element provided in the endoscope 10 while sucking air through the through hole 2a of the ball tip 2.
(3) Evaluation of the Lesion The medicinal liquid is dripped (discharged) from the catheter 1 in small appropriate amounts onto the lesion 11b.
For example, the medicinal liquid to be dripped onto the affected area 11b of the stomach, small intestine or large intestine mainly contains a solution containing indigo carmine as a solute (medicine) which makes the irregularities on the surface of the affected area 11b more noticeable by coloring it.
Specifically, a 5 mL ampoule containing a 0.4% solution of indigo carmine diluted 4 to 5 times is used. Note that the drug is not limited to indigo carmine.

For example, the medicinal liquid to be dropped onto the lesion 11b of the large intestine mainly contains a solution containing crystal violet (pyoktanin) as a solute, which brings out the pattern on the surface of the lesion 11b.
Specifically, a 1% crystal violet solution is usually stored and then diluted by about 20 times before use. By observing the pattern on the surface of the lesion 11b with a magnifying endoscope, the nature of the lesion 11b (benign, malignant, etc.) can be determined.

The various components of the catheter of the present invention do not need to be independent entities. It is acceptable for multiple components to be formed as a single member, for one component to be formed from multiple members, for one component to be part of another component, or for part of one component to overlap with part of another component, etc.

The above embodiment encompasses the following technical ideas.
(1)
A catheter capable of being passed through a lumen of an endoscope and discharging a medicinal liquid into a digestive tract,
A tube through which the drug solution passes;
a ball tip provided at a distal end of the tube;
The ball tip has a through hole formed therein, through which the liquid medicine that has passed through the tube can be discharged to the outside,
the ball tip has a spherical portion formed in a partially spherical shape and an insertion portion extending from the spherical portion and inserted into the tip portion of the tube, and is formed to be harder than the tube;
A catheter characterized in that the through hole is formed across the spherical portion and the insertion portion.
(2)
The insertion portion includes a shaft portion extending in a direction of insertion into the tube, and a large diameter portion provided at a point of insertion beyond the shaft portion and having a diameter larger than an outer diameter of at least a portion of the shaft portion,
a housing portion for housing an adhesive is formed between the shaft portion, the large diameter portion, the spherical portion, and the tube,
The catheter according to (1), wherein the housing portion is filled with the adhesive.
(3)
The catheter according to (2), wherein the shaft portion is composed of a tapered portion that reduces in diameter toward the insertion point, and a tubular portion that extends parallel to the axial direction of the tube from the end of the tapered portion that is the insertion point to the large diameter portion.
(4)
The insertion portion includes a shaft portion extending in a direction of insertion into the tube, and a large diameter portion provided at a point of insertion beyond the shaft portion and having a diameter larger than an outer diameter of at least a portion of the shaft portion,
The large diameter portion has a return portion on an outer circumferential surface,
The catheter according to any one of (1) to (3), wherein the return portion is composed of an enlarged diameter portion that expands radially outward from the shaft portion and abuts against the inner wall of the tube, and a reduced diameter portion that reduces in diameter from the enlarged diameter portion toward the end portion into which the tube is inserted.
(5)
The catheter according to (4) which refers to (2) or (3), wherein the containing portion is formed between the barb portion and the spherical portion.
(6)
The catheter according to any one of (1) to (5), wherein the spherical portion protrudes radially outward from the tube.
(7)
The catheter according to claim 6, wherein the portion of the spherical portion protruding from the tube is a partial sphere formed with a diameter larger than the outer diameter of the tube when viewed in a direction perpendicular to the axial direction of the tube.
(8)
The spherical portion has an abutment surface that is abutted against an end surface of the tube,
A catheter according to any one of (1) to (7), wherein the outer surface of the spherical portion is formed continuously with respect to the outer surface of the tube when the end surface of the tube and the abutment surface are in contact with each other.

REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 1 Catheter 1a Connector 1b Handle 1c Tube 1d End surface 1e Tip 1f Inner wall 2 Ball tip 2a Through hole 3 Spherical portion 3a Contact surface 4 Insertion portion 4a Shaft portion 4b Large diameter portion 4c Tapered portion 4d Cylindrical portion 4e Turned portion 4f Enlarged diameter portion 4g Reduced diameter portion 5 Storage portion 6 Adhesive 7 Cleaning liquid 10 Endoscope 10a Lumen 11 Digestive tract 11a Inner wall 11b Lesion 11c Pleated portion

Claims (5)

A catheter capable of being passed through a lumen of an endoscope and discharging a medicinal liquid into a digestive tract,
A tube through which the drug solution passes;
a ball tip provided at a distal end of the tube;
The ball tip has a through hole formed therein, through which the liquid medicine that has passed through the tube can be discharged to the outside,
the ball tip has a spherical portion formed in a partially spherical shape and an insertion portion extending from the spherical portion and inserted into the tip portion of the tube, and is formed to be harder than the tube;
The through hole is formed across the spherical portion and the insertion portion,
The insertion portion includes a shaft portion extending in a direction of insertion into the tube, and a large diameter portion provided at a point of insertion beyond the shaft portion and having a diameter larger than an outer diameter of at least a portion of the shaft portion,
a housing portion for housing an adhesive is formed between the shaft portion, the large diameter portion, the spherical portion, and the tube,
The adhesive is filled in the storage section,
A catheter characterized in that the shaft portion is composed of a tapered portion that reduces in diameter toward the insertion point, and a tubular portion that extends parallel to the axial direction of the tube from the end of the tapered portion that is to be inserted to the large diameter portion . A catheter capable of being passed through a lumen of an endoscope and discharging a medicinal liquid into a digestive tract,
A tube through which the drug solution passes;
a ball tip provided at a distal end of the tube;
The ball tip has a through hole formed therein, through which the liquid medicine that has passed through the tube can be discharged to the outside,
the ball tip has a spherical portion formed in a partially spherical shape and an insertion portion extending from the spherical portion and inserted into the tip portion of the tube, and is formed to be harder than the tube;
The through hole is formed across the spherical portion and the insertion portion,
The insertion portion includes a shaft portion extending in a direction of insertion into the tube, and a large diameter portion provided at a point of insertion beyond the shaft portion and having a diameter larger than an outer diameter of at least a portion of the shaft portion,
a housing portion for housing an adhesive is formed between the shaft portion, the large diameter portion, the spherical portion, and the tube,
The adhesive is filled in the storage section,
The large diameter portion has a return portion on an outer circumferential surface,
The return portion is composed of an expanded diameter portion that expands radially outward from the shaft portion and abuts against an inner wall of the tube, and a reduced diameter portion that reduces in diameter from the expanded diameter portion toward an end portion of the insertion destination,
A catheter characterized in that the containing portion is formed between the barb portion and the spherical portion. The catheter according to claim 1 or 2 , wherein the spherical portion protrudes radially outward from the tube. The catheter according to claim 3 , wherein the portion of the spherical portion protruding from the tube is a partial sphere formed with a diameter larger than an outer diameter of the tube when viewed in a direction perpendicular to the axial direction of the tube. The spherical portion has an abutment surface that is abutted against an end surface of the tube,
5. The catheter according to claim 1 , wherein an outer surface of the spherical portion is formed continuously with respect to the outer surface of the tube when the end surface of the tube and the abutment surface are in contact with each other.

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