JPH09266881A - Catheter tube - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To enhance the rupture resistance of towing wires in a catheter tube having the function of curving ends, in which a closely wound coil and the towing wires are placed inside lumens. SOLUTION: This catheter tube has a tube main body, inside which four lumens are formed. Inside two of the lumens, 43, 44, a closely wound flat coil 6 whose first and second ends are secured to the lumens 43, 44 and towing wires 51, 52 each passed through the coil 6 and having one end secured near the end or the tube main body 2 are enclosed. A slope 62 that is tapered to broaden toward the end of the closely wound coil 6 is formed on the inner surface of the closely wound coil 6 near the end.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a catheter tube which is used by inserting it into a body cavity such as heart, blood vessel, pancreatic duct, digestive tract, urethra, abdominal cavity, etc., for observing the insertion site and performing medical treatment.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In a catheter tube which is used by inserting it into a body cavity, a bending mechanism (pivoting mechanism) is attached to the tip of the catheter tube in order to direct the tip of the catheter tube toward a target site or to position it at the target site. Mechanism) has been developed. Particularly in the field of endoscopes, the bending mechanism is one of the important mechanisms in order to secure a desired visual field.

In recent years, as the diameter of an endoscope has been reduced, a bending mechanism having a structure not using node rings has been devised. One of them is a catheter tube having a structure in which a densely wound flat plate coil is arranged and fixed in a lumen of a non-curved portion of a multi-lumen tube, and a pulling wire is arranged in the coil. In this case, the close-wound coil is fixed to the multi-lumen tube at two locations near the boundary between the curved portion and the non-curved portion and on the proximal side (proximal side). As described above, since the close-wound coil is fixed to the non-curved portion in an immovable state, the non-curved portion of the multi-lumen tube does not contract when the pulling wire is pulled in the proximal direction. Therefore, the non-curved portion does not bend even when the pulling operation is performed.

[0004]

However, in such a catheter tube, since the inner surface and the end surface of the close-wound flat-plate coil are relatively flat and the inner end of the coil is angular, The pulling wire rubs against the tip of the coil during the bending operation,
There was a risk of breaking the tow wire.

The present invention has been made in view of the above points, and the friction between the tip of the closely wound coil and the pulling wire is reduced, and the tip end bending function is excellent in breaking durability of the pulling wire. It aims at providing the catheter tube provided with.

[0006]

The above object is achieved by the present invention described in (1) below.

(1) A tube body, at least one lumen formed over substantially the entire length of the tube body, and a distal end portion of the tube body are left, and the tube body is moved in the longitudinal direction of the tube body. At least one closely-wound coil disablingly disposed, the tip end portion being fixed to the vicinity of the tip of the tube body, and at least one traction wire disposed in the closely-wound coil; A catheter tube configured to be curved by pulling the pulling wire in the proximal direction of the tube body by pulling the pulling wire in the proximal direction of the tube body. The inner surface near the tip of the close-wound coil is an inclined surface that spreads toward the tip of the close-wound coil. And a catheter tube.

Here, the shape of the inclined surface in the vicinity of the tip of the closely wound coil may be a shape that widens toward the tip of the coil as a whole, and the diameter increases at a uniform rate toward the tip of the coil. In addition to the taper shape, fine irregularities may be formed, but the shape may be such that the diameter increases toward the tip of the coil as a whole.

The closely coiled coil is preferably a flat coil because the coil can be made thinner and the tube body can be made thinner.

[0010]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION The present invention will now be described in detail with reference to the embodiments shown in the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 is an overall side view showing an embodiment in which the catheter tube of the present invention is applied to a catheter tube constituting an endoscope (fiber scove).
Is a perspective view showing the configuration of the distal end portion of the catheter tube shown in FIG. 1, FIG. 3 is a vertical cross-sectional view taken along line III-III in FIG.
4 is a vertical sectional view taken along line IV-IV in FIG. 2, and FIG.
6 is a horizontal cross-sectional view taken along line V-V in FIG. 6, FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view taken along line VI-VI in FIG. 4, and FIG. 7 is an enlarged vertical cross-sectional view of the tip end portion of the closely wound coil shown in FIG. is there. In the following description, the right side in FIGS. 1 to 4 is referred to as a “base end”, and the left side is referred to as a “tip end”.

As shown in FIGS. 1 to 6, the catheter tube 1 of the present invention has a tube body 2. As the tube body 2, a pulling wire 51, which will be described later,
When 52 is pulled in the proximal direction, the bent portion 21 has flexibility so that it can be easily bent. For example,
Soft polyvinyl chloride, polyethylene, polypropylene,
It is made of a flexible polymer material such as polyurethane, polyamide, polytetrafluoroethylene, silicone rubber, and ethylene-vinyl acetate copolymer.

In order to make the catheter tube 1 visible under fluoroscopy, it is preferable that the tube body 2 be provided with an X-ray contrast property. Examples thereof include a method of incorporating an X-ray opaque substance such as barium sulfate, bismuth oxide, and tungsten into the constituent materials, and a method of embedding or adhering a marker made of such an X-ray opaque substance to the surface.

In order to improve the slidability with respect to the body cavity to be inserted, for example, a hydrophilic polymer (eg maleic anhydride copolymer) or a fluororesin (eg polytetrafluoro) is formed on the outer surface of the tube body 2. A low friction material such as ethylene) may be coated.

A bent portion 21 that bends or curves by a wire pulling operation described later is formed on the distal end side of the tube body 2, and a bent portion 2 is formed at a base end portion 23 of the tube.
An operation tool 8 for performing the bending operation 1 is installed. Between the bent portion 21 and the base end portion 23 of the tube body 2, the intermediate portion 2
It is composed of two. The intermediate portion 22 has such flexibility that it bends following the bending and bending of the tubular organ when the catheter tube 1 is inserted into the tubular organ such as a blood vessel or a pancreatic duct. The wire is not bent by the wire pulling operation described later.

Inside the tube body 2, the first lumen 41, the second lumen 42, the third lumen 43 and the fourth lumen 44 are provided over substantially the entire length in the longitudinal direction.
Are formed.

The tip of the first lumen 41 is open to the tip 3 of the tube body 2, and the first lumen 41
The optical fiber bundle 7 as an observing tool for observing the inside of the tubular organ into which the catheter tube 1 is inserted is housed in. This optical fiber bundle 7 can also be used for medical treatment such as irradiating the inner wall of a tubular organ with laser light.

The optical fiber bundle 7, as shown in FIG.
It is composed of a light-transmitting fiber (light guide) 71 and a light-receiving fiber (image fiber) 72, and these optical fibers are made into a bundle by being hardened with a resin such as epoxy, acrylic, or silicone rubber.

The light transmitting fiber 71 and the light receiving fiber 72 are composed of optical fibers made of quartz, multi-component glass, plastics or the like.

A lens 73 that collects the reflected light from the observation site is attached to the tip of the optical fiber bundle 7, and this portion is located near the opening at the tip of the lumen 41. In addition, the optical fiber bundle 7 is
Lumen 41, preferably fixedly installed
The optical fiber bundle 7 can be slidable, and the tip end portion of the optical fiber bundle 7 can be retracted from the tip end opening of the lumen 41.

Light emitted from a light source (not shown) on the base end side (right side in FIG. 1) of the operation tool 8 is transmitted through the light transmitting fiber 71, and is irradiated to the observation portion from its tip, and the reflected light is reflected. The light is collected by the lens 73 and captured from the tip of the light receiving fiber 72, and the image is transmitted through the fiber 72 and guided to the image receiving portion (not shown) on the proximal end side of the operating tool 8.

The optical fiber bundle 7 is attached to the lumen 41,
If not fixedly installed, the gap between the lumen 41 and the optical fiber bundle 7 can be used to inject fluid into or draw fluid from within the tubular organ. Specifically, this lumen 41 is used to administer a drug solution or the like into the tubular organ into which the catheter tube 1 has been inserted or left in place, or when obstructing the inside of the tubular organ with an endoscope, obstructing the field of view. It can also be used as a flush channel for ejecting a transparent liquid (for example, physiological saline, glucose solution) for pushing out body fluid such as blood and bile.

The second lumen 42 is open at the distal end portion 3 of the catheter tube 1 and is used as an insertion channel for a guide wire, various medical treatment tools, diagnostic tools, etc.
For example, the optical fiber bundle may be housed in the second lumen 42, and a treatment action such as irradiating a laser beam through the optical fiber bundle to crush stones may be performed. Examples of the medical treatment / diagnostic tool include forceps, cytodiagnosis brushes, injection needles, high-frequency, ultrasonic waves, probes (for calculus breaking), various sensors, and their leads. .

From the tip opening of the second lumen 42,
It is also possible to inject a fluid into a blood vessel or a tubular organ, or to suck a fluid such as blood from the inside of a blood vessel or the like. Specifically, the second lumen 42 is used to administer the drug solution into the blood vessel or the tubular organ in which the catheter tube 1 has been inserted and left, or the inside of the blood vessel or the tubular organ is observed by the optical fiber bundle 7. In this case, it is also used as a flush channel for ejecting a transparent liquid (for example, physiological saline solution, glucose solution) for pushing out a body fluid that obstructs the visual field.

Third lumen 43 and fourth lumen 44
Each of them has a close-wound coil 6 which prevents the middle portion 22 and the base end portion 23 from being bent when the bending portion 21 is bent.
And pulling wires 51 and 52 for bending the bending portion 21 of the tube body 2 are housed.

The tip portion of each closely wound coil 6 is inserted up to the vicinity of a boundary portion 24 between the bent portion 21 and the intermediate portion 22 of the tube body 2, and is fixed at this boundary portion 24. That is, when the outer peripheral surface of the boundary portion 24 is heated and pressed (tightened) while being coated with a heat shrinkable tube (not shown), the material of the tube body 2 is melted or softened, and the lumens of the lumens 43 and 44 are Becomes narrower, lumen 4
The inner wall surfaces of the outer peripheral side of the tube bodies 3 and 44 are deformed so as to project inward, and are pressed and brought into close contact with the outer peripheral surfaces of the closely wound coils 6, and due to their frictional force, the tips of the closely wound coils 6 are It is fixed to the lumens 43 and 44.

The tip of the tightly wound coil 6 is fixed as follows.
Not limited to the above method, for example, in the boundary portion 24, a method of adhering the inner surfaces of the lumens 43 and 44 and the outer peripheral surface of each anti-shrinkage member 6 with an adhesive (filler), etc. A method of tightening and fixing the coil 6 may be adopted.

The proximal ends (not shown) of the lumens 43 and 44 of each closely wound coil 6 are also fixed to the proximal end 23 of the tube body 2 in the same manner as the above-mentioned distal end. As a result, even if the pulling wires 51, 52 described later are pulled, the tightly wound coil 6 is pulled by the lumen 4 due to the pulling.
It is possible to reliably bend only the bent portion 21 without moving inside the portions 3 and 44.

The lumens 43, 4 of the close-wound coil 6 are
The fixed part to 4 is not limited to the above-mentioned tip part and the base end part, for example, the middle part of the close-wound coil 6 may be fixed, but if the fixed part and the fixed area are too large, Since the flexibility is impaired, it is preferable to fix the tightly wound coil 6 at about two points, the tip end portion and the base end portion, as described above.

As shown enlarged in FIG. 7, an inclined surface 62 is formed on the inner surface of the close-wound coil 6 in the vicinity of the tip 61, and the inner surface of the close-wound coil 6 is directed toward the tip thereof. Tapered diameter expansion, in other words, densely wound coil 6
Has a shape that widens toward the tip 61. As a result, when the pulling wires 51, 52 to be described later are pulled toward the proximal end side, the pulling wires 51, 52 come into contact with the inner surface near the tip 61 of the close-wound coil 6, but this inner surface becomes the inclined surface 62. Since there is no angular inside the tip 61 of the tightly wound coil 6, these pulling wires 5
Friction between 1, 52 and the inner surface is reduced. Therefore, breakage of the pulling wires 51, 52 is prevented.

The angle α of the inclined surface 62 with respect to the long axis of the tube body 2 varies depending on the dimensions of the catheter tube 1, but in the case of a biliary endoscope (fiberscope), specifically, the angle When α is about 20 to 60 °, the friction between the pulling wires 51 and 52 and the inside of the tip 61 of the close-wound coil 6 can be effectively reduced.

As a method of forming such an inclined surface 62, there is a method of physically polishing the inside of the vicinity of the tip 61 of the closely wound coil 6 with a drill or a method of processing by electrolytic polishing, chemical polishing or the like. Can be mentioned.

It should be noted that the shape of the inclined surface 62 does not have to be a tapered shape in which the inner diameter changes at a uniform rate toward the tip 61 of the closely wound coil 6 as shown in the drawing, and the tip 61
The shape may be such that the inner diameter is expanded at a non-uniform ratio toward. In other words, the inclined surface 62 may have fine irregularities as long as it has a shape that widens toward the tip 61 as a whole.

The close-wound coil 6 may be a so-called round wire coil in which a wire material having a substantially circular cross section is spirally wound.
As shown in the figure, it is preferably formed by a so-called flat coil formed by spirally winding a flat wire having a horizontally long rectangular shape. Thereby, the thickness of the flat plate coil can be made as thin as possible, and the diameter of the tube body 2 can be reduced.

The close-wound coil 6 is not limited to a single-layer winding, but may be a plurality of layers or a plurality of windings.

As the constituent material of the close-wound coil 6, for example, various metal materials such as stainless steel, carbon steel, tungsten steel, copper-based alloys such as copper or brass, aluminum, platinum, superelastic alloys, etc. Fluoroethylene,
Examples include various resins such as polyethylene, polypropylene, polyvinyl chloride, and polyester.

The tip openings of the third lumen 43 and the fourth lumen 44 are sealed with fillers 53 and 54, and the tips of the pulling wires 51 and 52 are bent by the fillers 53 and 54. It is fixed to the tube body 2 at 21. The tow wires 51, 5
The fixing position of 2 is preferably a position eccentric from the central axis of the tube body 2, preferably near the outer circumference of the tube body 2.

When such pulling wires 51, 52 are pulled toward the base end side, the pulling wires 51, 52 of the tube body 2
A force for contracting the side on which 52 is arranged is applied in the proximal direction of the tube main body 2, and as shown by the alternate long and short dash line in FIG.
Bend to the side with the tip of. As a result, it is possible to observe the inner surface of a blood vessel or another tubular organ into which the catheter tube 1 has been inserted, or perform medical treatment.

The pulling wires 51 and 52 are as follows.
It has strength and durability to the extent that wire breakage does not occur due to frequent pulling operations, and it is preferable that it has little elongation. For example, stainless steel, a metal wire such as a superelastic alloy, or the like,
Examples thereof include high-strength resin fibers such as polyamide, polyethylene, polyarylate, polyester, and polyimide, and single wires and fiber bundles made of carbon fibers.

As shown in FIG. 1, the catheter tube 1
The operation tool 8 connected to the proximal end side of the operation tool body 81 has an operation tool body 81, and the proximal end portion 23 of the tube body 2 is inserted from a manifold portion 82 formed at the tip of the operation tool body 81. . Further, the grip portion 83 is provided on the proximal end side of the operation tool body 81.
A connector 84 for inserting the optical fiber bundle 7 of the endoscope into the first lumen 71 is attached to the proximal end portion of the grip portion 83. Also, the grip portion 8
A connector 85 for injecting, for example, a liquid into the second lumen 42 is attached to the unit 3. The connector 84 and the lumen 41, and the connector 85 and the lumen 42 are connected to each other in the operation tool body 82 by conduits (not shown).

An operation dial 86 for pulling the wire 41 is rotatably supported between the manifold portion 82 and the grip portion 83 of the operation tool body 81. A take-up reel (not shown) is fixed to the rotary shaft of the operation dial 86 and rotates integrally with the operation dial 86. The proximal ends of the wires 51, 52 are lumens 43,
It is exposed from the base end of 44, passes through the inside of the operation tool body 81, and is wound around the take-up reel. Thereby, when the operation dial 86 is rotated clockwise in FIG. 1, for example,
The pulling wire 52 is pulled, the pulling wire 51 is loosened, the bending portion 21 is bent upward in FIG. 1, and when the operation dial 86 is rotated in the opposite direction to the above, the pulling wire 51 is pulled and the pulling wire 52 is loosened. Thus, the bent portion 21 bends downward in FIG.

While bending the bending portion 21 in this manner, the inside of the tubular organ can be observed over a wide range through the optical fiber bundle 7. In addition, liquid injection, suction, and other medical treatments can be performed via the lumen 42.
They can also be done extensively.

The catheter tube of the present invention has been described above based on the illustrated embodiment, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, in the catheter tube of the present invention, the number and arrangement of each lumen are not limited to those shown in the drawings. For example, at least one of the lumens 43 and 44 does not exist, or in addition to the lumens 41 to 44, other One or two or more lumens may be added.

Further, the catheter tube of the present invention may be a balloon catheter having a balloon (not shown) at the tip of the tube body 2 which is expanded / contracted by injecting / exhausting a working fluid. In this case, a lumen for supplying the working fluid into the balloon can be added.

The application of the catheter tube of the present invention is not limited to the above-mentioned endoscope catheter tube, but may be used in various catheter tubes such as ablation catheters and cardiac output measurement catheters, and laparoscopic surgery. It can be applied to various tube bodies such as a trocar tube to be used.

Regarding the site where the catheter tube is inserted and indwelled, in addition to blood vessels, for example, pancreatic duct, trachea,
It can also be used for tubular organs such as the esophagus, stomach, intestines, ureters, bladder, biliary tract, and abdominal cavity, and inside organs such as the heart.

Hereinafter, the catheter tube of the present invention will be described in more detail with reference to specific examples.

Example 1 A catheter tube having the structure shown in FIGS. 1 to 7 was manufactured. The conditions of this catheter tube are as follows.

<Tube body> Constituent material: Soft polyvinyl chloride outer diameter: 2.8 mm Total length: Approximately 50 cm Lumen number: 4 Lumens for storing traction wire and tightly wound coil: 2 (inner diameter 0.6 mm) Optical fiber bundle Lumen for storage: 1 (inner diameter 1.0 mm) Medical treatment, diagnostic tool storage lumen: 1 (inner diameter 1.2)
<Densely wound coil> Constituent materials: Stainless steel Shape: Flat coil, single-layer winding Full length: 39.5 cm Outer diameter: 0.59 mm Inner diameter: 0.32 mm Flat plate width: 0.373 mm Flat plate thickness: 0. 05mm Inner diameter at coil tip: Approx. 0.37mm Thickness of flat plate at coil tip: Approx. 0.025mm Formation of inclined surface: Polishing with a drill Angle of inclined surface α: Approx. 45 ° Arrangement: 4cm from the tip of the tube body Arranged excluding parts <Traction wire> Constituent material: Number of polyarylate stranded wires: 2 Outer diameter: Approx. 0.3 mm <Optical fiber bundle> Composition: Image fiber (plastic fiber with a diameter of about 500 μm, about 6000) Outer diameter Approximately 0.9 mm For the catheter tube of Example 1 described above, the operation dial of the operation tool was rotated to bend the bent portion of the tube body. Was allowed to even better bending operation in any direction is performed, clogging due to collapse of the lumen, it did not produce constriction.

(Comparative Example 1) A catheter tube 1 having the same structure as that of Example 1 was manufactured except that no inclined surface was formed on the inner surface of the closely wound coil in the vicinity of the tip thereof.

[Evaluation] Three catheter tubes of each of Example 1 and Comparative Example 1 were manufactured, and the breaking durability of the pulling wire was measured for each of these catheter tubes. As a measuring method, the pulling wire was repeatedly pulled with the catheter tube fixed, and the number of pulling times until the pulling wire was cut was measured.

The measurement results are shown in Table 1 below.

[0053]

[Table 1]

As shown above, the catheter tube of Example 1 is
It was confirmed that the number of times of pulling was more than 10 times, and the breaking durability of the pulling wire was extremely excellent.

[0055]

As described above, the catheter tube of the present invention has a tube body, at least one lumen formed over substantially the entire length of the tube body, and a distal end portion of the tube body, At least one closely wound coil immovably arranged in the longitudinal direction of the tube body in the lumen, and at least one of the closely wound coils having a tip end fixed near the tip of the tube body and arranged in the closely wound coil; Having two pulling wires and a pulling tool capable of pulling the pulling wires toward the proximal end of the tube body, and pulling the pulling wire toward the proximal end of the tube main body, the distal end of the tube main body is obtained. A catheter tube having a curved portion, wherein an inner surface near the tip of the closely coiled coil faces the tip of the closely coiled coil. Since it is an inclined surface having a widened shape, the friction between the close-wound coil and the pulling wire can be reduced, and therefore, the breaking durability of the pulling wire at the time of bending operation can be improved. .

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is an overall side view showing an embodiment in which the catheter tube of the present invention is applied to a catheter tube that constitutes an endoscope.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a configuration of a distal end portion of the catheter tube shown in FIG.

FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken along line III-III in FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken along line IV-IV in FIG.

5 is a sectional view taken along line VV in FIG.

6 is a sectional view taken along line VI-VI in FIG.

7 is an enlarged vertical cross-sectional view of a tip end portion of the close-wound coil shown in FIG.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Catheter tube 2 Tube main body 21 Bending part 22 Intermediate part 23 Base end part 24 Boundary part 3 Tip part 41 First lumen 42 Second lumen 43 Third lumen 44 Fourth lumen 51,52 Traction wire 53,54 Filler 6 Close-wound coil 61 Tip 62 Sloping surface 7 Optical fiber bundle 71 Fiber for light transmission 72 Fiber for light reception 73 Lens 8 Operation tool 81 Operation tool main body 82 Manifold section 83 Grip section 84 Connector 85 Connector 86 Operation dial

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A tube body, at least one lumen formed over substantially the entire length of the tube body, and a distal end portion of the tube body remaining unmovable in the lumen in the longitudinal direction of the tube body. At least one densely wound coil, a tip portion of which is fixed near the tip of the tube body, and at least one pulling wire arranged in the tightly wound coil; and the pulling wire of the tube body. A catheter tube having a pulling tool that can be pulled in a proximal direction, and by pulling the pulling wire in a proximal direction of the tube body, the distal end portion of the tube body is curved. The inner surface in the vicinity of the tip of the close-wound coil is an inclined surface that is widened toward the tip of the close-wound coil. A catheter tube characterized by.